Streaky

Well, the Sens have not won in 5 of the last 6 games.  Time for panic?  I'm not terribly concerned myself. There are several factors at work.

 

First of all, their incredible start was fueled by fantastic goaltending and fortunate bounces when they weren't playing their best. You don't win 15 of 17 games by pure luck, but they did use up a lot of Jobu's rum in the process. Within the last 6 games they dropped 2 in a shootout. If they pulled those out, it doesn't appear nearly as bad. They are a strong team, but not one that will realistically win 88% of their games this season. I honestly didn't see a couple of the games they lost. But you can't allow 4 or 5 goals and expect to win. The fact is, they need to tighten up the defense.

 

Goaltending will ALWAYS be an issue. Much like Philly or LA, the Sens have a history of second guessing their netminders. One issue was Gerber getting pulled after a goal in a 3-3 game. (Granted, he had given up 8 goals over the last 4 periods) Emery hasn't been very good in his return. He had his best game last night, but I think he's finding out how tough it is to be a back-up. These things will pass. Both guys are fundamentally good goaltenders.

 

Injuries. Alfredsson missed a few games with a groin pull and probably isn't 100%. Eaves is out 4-6 weeks. Funny, that everyone below Heatley/Spezza/Alfredsson is underrated. But Eaves is underrated. He has a nice physical side to his game, and was really starting to click with Kelly. They can live without Eaves, but expect a lot of losses if Alfie is out long term. He pretty much IS the team. El Capitan is what makes them go.

 

I am concerned that the powerplay hasn't been very good all season. For as much skill as this team has, it should be much better.  The media has overlooked this so far.

 

It sucks to see the team lose. But last year was a lot worse. There's a difference between struggling and drowning. A least their hot start allows some room for error. Besides, the season is long and the time to get hot is months from now. Simply, stay in the playoff race, keep injuries down, and don't read the newspaper during slumps.