That Leafs game is the only Senators game I've ever been to. I flew down all the way from the Yukon and had to watch that **** show.
As brutal as the Anderson and Lehner were at points last season, it wasn't their fault for missing the playoffs.If by unfair you mean that he went by a larger body of work instead of just going with a guy who was very good for 3 games in a row then yeah, I suppose you have a point. It would have been much better for my heart to have Lehner absolutely tank really early in the season the way he did in the stretch drive, because we would have been out of the playoff race by Christmas. Of course Anaheim would have ended up with a top 5 pick instead of #10, but whatever right?
Arguing that Lehner should have played more only makes sense if he played well the rest of the way through. He did not. Andy tanked early, but he brought us back into the playoff race with really solid goaltending. Lehner had a hot streak early, but absolutely single handedly destroyed our shot at a playoff spot last season with crappy play when it mattered most. They both take their share of the blame for how things worked out last season to be sure.
The argument that we would have been so much better off riding Lehner is completely asinine considering how things actually played out. Our only hope to salvage the season was keeping Andy healthy and playing, and unfortunately it did not work out that way.
Greening has one of the worst defensive awareness's ive ever seen. Just as bad as Neil.I don't mind Greening and Smith as they can defend with some speed and size, but Neil has lost a step and, given that he never was a Penalty Killer due to his lack of first step quickness and less than average puck handling, he is not ideal to defend a lead. He is a physical checking winger and light weight policeman at this time (not a heavy weight pugilist). Condra would be a better defensive winger to defend a lead as he is faster and first 3 steps quicker., although I prefer MacArthur.
You know, a team once took bicycles, dogsleds, boats, and a train from Dawson city over the course of a month to see the Ottawa Senators, and they complained less.
You specifically mentioned Anderson losing big games to Montreal, so I think that's a brilliant example. We can complain about the non-calls, but he let in at least two weak ass goals there and he still gave up 4 goals in less than 5 minutes.
If you honestly believe that Anderson was "****" last year and Lehner was not (by your definition) then I don't think you have a good (or possibly unbiased) view of talent.
If Anderson can't put it together this season and Lehner plays him out of #1, then that's fine. But that hasn't happened yet. Not even close.
And I laughed out loud when I read the "HF loves veterans" comment. Is this the Twilight Zone?
I said Lehner was better than Anderson and his lows were not as low as Anderson's. Which IMO is true. Also Lehner was playing fine got number one star in the NHL then Andy came back they played Andy he was bad kept him in kept saying he's our no1 then Lehner started to have his lows, which I think is mainly because of sitting there
Xspyrit, it's okay to respect them, but you also have to respect the place where they're at in their carreers, can't play Philly top 4 anymore and Neil can't be playing 3rd line, of course people will bash them lol... I have a lot of respect for them, but coach has to put them somewhere where they can succeed
Here if you say something bad against them ohhhh no we can't go full youth, Im not saying remove them from the team, I am saying give them a proper role, that's all
And I can totally agree with that but why do they get blasted that much when it's the coach that put them in a bad position to succeed. Phillips is now a 3rd pairing veteran who should not see PP time but should still have a role on the PK. Neil is now a 12th/13th forward, semi-enforcer energy guy, 8-10 mins a game. That's what they should do to have success. Some youngsters are to blame too, as they didn't impose themselves enough to steal away that ice-time for Phillips and Neil
Let's hope we have a different story next year and that Neil/Phillips can cruise their way to retirement in peace. We don't have the chance to see career Senators that much. It should be worth something.
They also got clobbered 23-2 in a single game. One-Eyed Frank McGee scored 14 of those.
Then we got drunk and tried to punt the Stanley Cup over the Rideau Canal. We failed.
Then we got drunk and tried to punt the Stanley Cup over the Rideau Canal. We failed.