If the Ottawa Senators players have any intention of saving the team's season and the skin of their head coach DJ Smith, they would do well to execute their game plan better.
As has happened several times this year, the Ottawa team delivered a poor performance in front of their distraught fans on Tuesday at the Canadian Tire Centre. The 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes increased doubts about the club and certainly reignited speculation about Smith's future. The latter had to fall below the .500 mark again due to a poor evening, which was characterized, among other things, by an ineffective power play.
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“It's terrible. “Forgive me for my level of language,” striker Josh Norris told the Ottawa Sun newspaper about his team's four wasted numerical advantages.
Additionally, similar to what they offered the crowd during the game, few of the Senators' color bearers appeared to offer valid answers in the locker room.
“I don’t have much to say other than it was frustrating,” admitted captain Brady Tkachuk, who missed a penalty.
Define journey
The good news for Smith and his flock is that they will be well away from local pressure in the coming days. They will play their next five games abroad: in 2023-2024 they maintained a 3-3-0 record on opposing soil and to get out of the cellar of the Atlantic Section of the National Hockey League they will certainly have to raise their level a few notches higher play.
“It’s a good time for us to go. Some of the teams we will be playing are some of the best in the league. “This is a good opportunity to see where we are and motivate ourselves even more by doing what we have to do,” said the pilot.
“Sometimes we worry too much about the other club. We have to focus on ourselves and take it one game at a time. [Avant mardi]We've been playing good hockey lately and we need to keep it up.
Ottawa will visit the St. Louis Blues, who just fired their head coach Craig Berube, on Thursday. The rest of the trip is likely to be quite difficult: the Dallas Stars (Friday), the Vegas Golden Knights (Sunday), the Arizona Coyotes (Tuesday) and the Colorado Avalanche (December 21) are also on the program.