I believe Senators fans have a number of reasons for optimism heading into the season that the Senators will be a playoff team. I also think there are several reasons that hedge that bet and if they come true will man a second straight season on the outside looking in come mid-April.

I will look at the positive in the next post, but I will start with the question marks today.

I have pinpointed 3 major reasons:

1) Inevitable injuries to key players/lack of depth: The starting 20 on paper is good enough to make the playoffs. I sincerely believe that if Kyle Turris doesn't get rolled on by Casey Cizikas in early December and was healthy, the Senators were a playoff team. That injury that he tried to play through caused a ridiculous slump not only for him but also affected Mark Stone, who tried to carry the line on his back.

That being said, injuries are inevitable, and the Senators don't have the depth to overcome long-term injuries to their top 6 forwards or top 4 defensemen. They simply don't have the depth. One would be ok, as they were doing fine in Clarke MacArthur's absence, but a second one would be devastating up front. And God forbid, something happens to Erik Karlsson on the blue line, knock on wood.

2) Goaltending: I have brought this one up before and have had mixed reaction. I am simply not sure Craig Anderson is still in the upper half of starting goalies any more, and at his age his best days are behind him. Andrew Hammond showed last season that he is what was expected, a backup goalie. The Senators can mitigate this hole by playing better team defense and allowing fewer, less difficult shots, but in the end I am not sure how much "Beast Mode" Anderson has left in his tank.

3) Inconsistency: Playing 82 games is a tough go. Playing at top level every night is not possible, but the Senators have had a habit of going lengthy stretches of ineptitude and spotty play. Not just as a team, but individually as well. Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris all had untimely slumps last season, many at the same time. And yes, scorers can get hot and cold, but Stone had a stretch of just 2 assists in 14 games. Hoffman suffered a 13 game stretch with just a goal and 2 assists and Turris famously went 15 games without a point, albeit on 1 leg, before he was shut down for the season.

The Senators don't have the depth to make up for these 4 players not scoring, and Karlsson can't do it all from the blue line.

I started with the pessimism, but there are plenty of reasons for the Senators fan to be optimistic, which I will cover next time.

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