The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

I completely admit it.

I was fooled. Duped. Too optimistic for my own good.

I actually thought the Ottawa Senators had it in them to turn the slump around. I believed all the talk from the players that they'd start winning some games. Good teams do that. But with only 1 win in their last 8 games, 13th in the 15 team Eastern Conference, I've been waiting & waiting and nothing is going right.

It amazes me how many different ways they find to lose. Back-to-back games they chased the starting goalie out of the net, only to have the other team return from being down and out to picking up the win.

How many short-handed goals have they allowed? Worst in the league in that department. And with all that offensive talent, they are in the bottom five in powerplay goals and can never seem to score when they are down by just a goal, and if they do, they blow that momentum by allowing untimely goals to quickly follow.

That's another thing...much like the playoffs, they can't surmount a comeback when trailing, even if the difference is just one goal. Last night, they were down 4-1, but managed to rally to make it 4-3. Much like the rest of the season, I actually thought they might pull it off and tie it up. But whenever they come so close, they always manage to screw it up and give the other team the victory.

Martin Gerber has been absolutely brutal. He gives up weak goals and Emery, on the sidelines, can't do much while he heals. And things aren't getting any easier, with two games against the best team in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres, tomorrow and Saturday.

I have no idea if it's the players to blame, if Coach Murray can't get through to the club, if Muckler created this mess or what. But I am going to say it right now: I no longer think the Ottawa Senators are making the playoffs this year. It was a given for the last decade they'd make it, but not this time. They haven't given me any reason to believe anything is going to change at the rate they're going.

This doesn't mean they're no longer my team, or that I'll stop watching or talking about them. I'll always be a fan. But it just means my expectations have gotten so low, any accomplishment they make this year is just a bonus.

Sens for life.

- The ol' SBP

p.s. For fun, I wanted to see how their farm team, the Binghamton Senators, have been doing over in the AHL. Let's see: Oh...dead last in the East. Perfect. There's sunshine on the horizon.