The attendance has to be connected to the game time, 5:30pm start where our arena is located isn't gonna cut it for the vast majority of Ottawans.

The attendance has to be connected to the game time, 5:30pm start where our arena is located isn't gonna cut it for the vast majority of Ottawans.
- Bartacus

I didn't even know it was a 5:30 start until I got the Score ap telling me it was about to start.

6 PP chances, one almost for 4 min. No creativity, no urgency, zero results, what a surprise. Sure they scored 5 on 3, but this game was there for the taking on special teams alone. This coaching staff continues to fail these players.
- LawyerSens4Life

Zero coaching going on, like you said in a few of your posts plus if you are seeing the reaction on the bench with the players and coaches, that says it all. I saw similar stuff going back to the Vegas game sitting in that area! 9 min. of PP in the 2nd period and you get one goal, during a 5 on 3. No in game adjustments, first time HC outcoaching DJ on homeice, manipulating the last line change too. Unreal!

The attendance has to be connected to the game time, 5:30pm start where our arena is located isn't gonna cut it for the vast majority of Ottawans.
- Bartacus

Monday and an early start in this town are death for attendance. Lets see if they get 14-15k tomorrow night. They should sell out the afternoon game on Saturday, families and younger kids going....etc....they should be marketing the hell out of it to teams in all sports for team building outings.

Not sure what happened last night from a fan perspective. The team advertised that well for an "Alfie" evening. Free parking in two lots, cheap tickets. Free refills on the commemorative Alfie tumblers. 11K is generous.......very.

Maybe it was the time of day? People still at work etc etc?

I dunno. Maybe it was the opponents. The Islanders certainly didn't win that game. The Sens lost it. They have every opportunity to win. The Isles play simple one line hockey, get the lead, shut you down. Barzal was invisible.

For those saying "another back up goalie". The Isles don't have one. They have two starters. And they're both very good. It's how they can play this dumb style of hockey.

I thought Sanderson looked very good. I was ripping on Holden for his give away but more and more, the getting out of our zone thing looks like it's on the wingers. They are given the puck by the D along the wall, make a play and get out of the zone. Nope. It cycles back into our end again.
- Octavarium

Very little commitment from the wingers. Batherson and Tkachuk are two of the worst for it. They don't even operate in simple triangles breaking out, let alone defending in 5 man units.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch
·
1h
Pierre Dorion says after GM’s meeting on coach DJ Smith: “Coaching isn’t an issue. Not at all.”

Not particularly a fan of Smith. Or, of Dorion for that matter. I do believe that the Sens problems are rooted in the players and not behind the bench. Folks are probably wasting words going on about the need to change the coach.

On the other hand, I think both Dorion and Smith will be gone before next year.

But, I don't think anyone will endorse any kind of change until the new ownership group has been installed. I still believe we will know the name of the leading contender for ownership by Christmas/New Year celebrations.

Doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results is what happens with this coaching staff. This from an outsider that watches every team.

Doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results is what happens with this coaching staff. This from an outsider that watches every team.
- PuckPix

Repetition is an essential ingredient for the development of skill.

You want repetition with "improved" rather than "different" results.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch
·
1h
Pierre Dorion says after GM’s meeting on coach DJ Smith: “Coaching isn’t an issue. Not at all.”

Not particularly a fan of Smith. Or, of Dorion for that matter. I do believe that the Sens problems are rooted in the players and not behind the bench. Folks are probably wasting words going on about the need to change the coach.

On the other hand, I think both Dorion and Smith will be gone before next year.

But, I don't think anyone will endorse any kind of change until the new ownership group has been installed. I still believe we will know the name of the leading contender for ownership by Christmas/New Year celebrations.
- spatso

That vote of confidence is pretty disappointing. I guess there doesn’t seem to be a sense of winning.

I am still hopeful the team can turn it around..our forward group is capable of staying in every game. Our goaltending has been very good up until this point despite the hiccups on defense.

The silver lining in all this: bedard/michkov/fantili

Not to mention by the deadline, we could see debrincat on the block if it doesn’t work out.

Repetition is an essential ingredient for the development of skill.

You want repetition with "improved" rather than "different" results.
- spatso

over 3 years of the same thing, do you actually watch Ottawa? 3 years plus of the same pathetic door knob behind the bench, looking lost, never shows emotion, no wonder he leads all sportsbooks for first NHL head coach to fired lol. The guy is joke.

The Sens have always had attendance issues on weekday games but a Monday 5:30 pm game start time was a recipe for disaster. Probably one of the least popular games when tickets went on sale as it was hard to know why the game was at 5:30 pm. I didn’t realize they were trying to incorporate the HOF speech after the game until recently. Folks likely thought it was just a random time and chose other games.

Second, I was offered tickets to Mondays game but declined as I work until 5:30 pm and it’s an hour drive to the CTC for myself. I feel a lot of working folks on a Monday were in a similar situation and the timing just didn’t work out. 7 pm games are difficult enough on work nights.

Thirdly, I get the sentiment of wanting to watch the HOF festivities after a game, but I am surprised, they did it this way. I think everyone knows it’s hard to keep butts in the seats in Ottawa once the game is close to being over. Even after dramatic wins, fans in this city race for the exits.

Is what it is really, should not put a damper on the great night for Alfie and his family.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

100% agree

Is DJ Smith a bad hockey coach? OF COURSE NOT. He wouldn't be 1 of 32 in the entire continent at this level

Is DJ Smith the main problem of this team? Debatable. I certainly think it's he's not the only reason

Is DJ Smith a NHL head coach? Do you honestly believe that any other team would hire him if he was fired (within the next 24 months) as a HEAD coach? I think the answer is no personally and I think that makes sense

over 3 years of the same thing, do you actually watch Ottawa? 3 years plus of the same pathetic door knob behind the bench, looking lost, never shows emotion, no wonder he leads all sportsbooks for first NHL head coach to fired lol. The guy is joke.
- PuckPix

James Nelson in his book The Intimate Connection writes about passion, especially the sources of passion (for men). Being a sports fan is, in fact, one of the great sources of passion. Winning and losing produces grand swings of emotion for the fan.

I have nothing against gamblers. But as Nelson explains, they are devoid of the passion that comes from connecting with something they care about. They have a dispassionate interest in the actual event. Nelson explains how we are capable of living through an "inner deadness." We make ourselves indifferent to what most fans want to feel. The gambler loses the connection and are unable to identify with the feelings of the average fan.

It is hard for gamblers and fans to share opinions on sporting events, especially where it involves the outcome of games involving a favourite team.

Is DJ Smith a bad hockey coach? OF COURSE NOT. He wouldn't be 1 of 32 in the entire continent at this level

Is DJ Smith the main problem of this team? Debatable. I certainly think it's he's not the only reason

Is DJ Smith a NHL head coach? Do you honestly believe that any other team would hire him if he was fired (within the next 24 months) as a HEAD coach? I think the answer is no personally and I think that makes sense
- AlfieisKing

Dave Cameron, Peter Horacek, Alain Nasreddine. All names I suspect you'll never see as an NHL HC again. You can probably add DJ to that list.

Maybe.
I would have said the same about Mike Yeo, and yet he keeps getting hired as a seat warmer until teams find "their guy".


I firmly believe the coach is the main problem with the team. The pieces are there. The goaltending is good enough. When people talk about systems and the power play being ineffective.....for me it's like this.

I watched our Sens sling it around on the power play and even 5 on 5 with expert skill. Because, we have talented players. VERY. But there was no plan or purpose to it. They could have been playing against a bunch of beer leaguers, and the Islanders were content to let them sling it around in fancy passing plays. IF They had a plan---any plan...I could forgive the weak power play because of familiarity. You can't just throw a bunch of talented dudes together and expect them to know their tendencies. Same D partners who seem to have a new partner every game, sometime every period. That out of the zone pass back that seems to go astray often-is a good example. This is COACHING. He's just not very good.

From this week's 32 Thoughts:

This stood out from Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion: “Jake Sanderson played 25 quality minutes (Monday night). Jacob Bernard-Docker has come up and stepped in. Maybe the solution all the time was internally.”

Dorion’s worked hard to see what’s out there, and I believe he’s come across two challenges. One is that he’s dealing from position of weakness and teams are trying to hijack him. Two is that there are plenty of players who can block a trade to Canada, and it’s possible that’s happened. It’s not an Ottawa issue, but a Canada issue (Personal note: go back to the Salming section. The rewards for competing hard are enormous.)

Dorion’s looked hard at defensive options and will continue to do so, but may choose to go with what he’s got. The Senators' underlying numbers under DJ Smith aren’t bad. Very reasonable in terms of expected-goals differential. It’s a results-based business, but Dorion didn’t just tell the media he wasn’t going to change coaches. He told the leadership group, too.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...tribute-to-borje-salming/

Maybe.
I would have said the same about Mike Yeo, and yet he keeps getting hired as a seat warmer until teams find "their guy".


I firmly believe the coach is the main problem with the team. The pieces are there. The goaltending is good enough. When people talk about systems and the power play being ineffective.....for me it's like this.

I watched our Sens sling it around on the power play and even 5 on 5 with expert skill. Because, we have talented players. VERY. But there was no plan or purpose to it. They could have been playing against a bunch of beer leaguers, and the Islanders were content to let them sling it around in fancy passing plays. IF They had a plan---any plan...I could forgive the weak power play because of familiarity. You can't just throw a bunch of talented dudes together and expect them to know their tendencies. Same D partners who seem to have a new partner every game, sometime every period. That out of the zone pass back that seems to go astray often-is a good example. This is COACHING. He's just not very good.
- Octavarium

Is it strange to knock a powerplay that is 10th in the league? It’s debatable.

Honestly, I have similar feelings. There is tons of skill on the powerplay but it seems predictable. The go to play is down low close to the net, cross crease pass for the winger. Additionally, there is no bomb on the point or even the threat of a wrist shot hoping for a tip. This is causing teams to not respect the points and create easier opportunities for interceptions and downlow coverage.

There haven’t been a ton of adjustments made on the PP due to it working at an ok rate, but it could be better.

Is it strange to knock a powerplay that is 10th in the league? It’s debatable.

Honestly, I have similar feelings. There is tons of skill on the powerplay but it seems predictable. The go to play is down low close to the net, cross crease pass for the winger. Additionally, there is no bomb on the point or even the threat of a wrist shot hoping for a tip. This is causing teams to not respect the points and create easier opportunities for interceptions and downlow coverage.

There haven’t been a ton of adjustments made on the PP due to it working at an ok rate, but it could be better.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

You are right it's quite predictable. It's 10th now, but will that continue if they don't adapt?

The lack of a big shot from theh point makes it a little harder, but it isn't essential like you said.

Stick Brady in front of the net and just get the puck on net. It was one of Karlsson's biggest strengths there, just getting decent shots on net.

Ya the Islanders had a guy glued to Pinto, and Batherson I think in front in the bumper receiver position. Which, was stated by and earlier poster, should have freed up the D or someone to move around more but nobody seemed to take advantage of it.