PIT vs OTT

After months of problems, this result is no surprise to anyone who's been following the Senators. Seems it was a complete breakdown of 'team culture' and while Emery has to take a share of the blame, certainly he can't be the only one responsible. Sens fans can only hope for wholesale changes that will bring in the right attitude / work ethic. As much as I like Spezza and Heatley I would not be surprised to see one (or even both) of them gone at the start of next season. Redden, Emery, Neil will be gone but there are others on that list. Noone save for Alfredsson is safe. Surprisingly, Gerber was pretty good in net in the playoffs... who knows if he'll be back but one thing is for sure - Sens need to find a very good goalie to alternate with him next year.

Well, I have to say this was inevitable. I initially thought the Pen's would win this series but I actually thought Ottawa would go in 5 or 6. You have to admit, the Pen's are good. I felt this team played with no heart and a severe lack of self-discipline. The only players that seemed to show up for every game were, Gerber, Foligno and Vermette. I think Foligno has the potential to have a strong career in the NHL, he has alot of grit and heart. While the rest of the team were waffling about, he and Vermette were taking it to the Pen's in every game they played in. To everyone in Ottawa that continually put down Gerber all year, it was because of him that the games remained close. Chris Neil should be ashamed of his performance. He did nothing but cause penalties at inopportune times and he was more of a hindrance than a benefit in the series. I don't understand why Brian Murray kept playing him all the time, he wasn't rattling the Pen's at all. Ottawa has to do a great deal of soul-searching to answer to such a fall over the course of the year. Of course, with me being a Boston fan, I know the writing is on the wall for me as well. At least my team didn't have the expectations for success that Ottawa had. Also, at least we won a game too.

State of shock? You must be a Leafs fan, getting in a last shot at the Sens. Their second half of the season was rocked with Coaching changes and injuries, and they barely made the playoffs.

Come on CBC, get over the Leafs. Sens need a shake up, no question, but saying their in a state of shock is laughable. They're just happy to have survived this year. Go Sens Go.

Are the Sens really in a state of shock as this title says? I don't think so. They've played poorly for months and while us fans hoped they could "flick the switch" for the playoffs, we all knew that there were deeper problems that would be very difficult to overcome. I think that shock is the wrong word...

I think this series highlighted how important both Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly are to this team. Ottawa couldn't handle the Pens defensively and those two guys would've helped out significantly.

"State of shock" What where you all expecting?
I'm tired of listening to all these so-called Ottawa fans.
Things to know.
Sens always choke in the playoffs.
Leafs do not care about there fans as long as they keep selling seats.
And The Canadians are going to bring the cup back to Canada.

How are the sens in a state of shock? There was nothing but positive energy coming from the crowd last night as a fan displayed a sign on the video scoreboard in the last minute of play which read "win or lose, we still love our sens". This errupted the crowd into a standing ovation for the entire last minute.

State of shock?

Redden: Goodbye, and good riddance. Take your off-ice problems and inflict them on some other city. You'd better hope you have some friends out of town to take the fall for you, since not everyone will believe the old "I was just holding it for him" routine. Enjoy spending the rest of your so called career going from city to city because nobody else will put up with you coughing up the puck at every opportunity.

Emery: It takes a special kind of spoiled brat to go from golden boy to pariah in less than a season. Well done. Try not to miss your flight out of town. Too bad for you there's no hockey in Vegas.

Spezza: Newsflash! Everyone knows about your drop and slide move, and the blind drop-pass. They knows it's about all you can do. Get a few other moves or get lost.

I wouldn't call this a state of shock for the Senators or their fans, but rather relief. We can still say "at least we made the playoffs", and now that it's over we can say "let's get to work". A few cuts, a few additions and there's no reason not to be in the finals in '09.

I guess getting rid of Paddock wasn't the answer after all.

Again, the CBC has proved their true colours, "Blue and White". This report is not only biased, but gives no credit to players who did work hard these last four games. Other Canadian Newspapers and Newsfeeds at least mention the fact that Martin Gerber was outstanding between the posts, and that Alfredsson, despite injury, played the last two games to support his team and encourage the fans. My family attended the game last night (my son is a Pittsburg fan). What we did not see last night, was a team in a “state of shock”. We saw a team who knew their season was about to end, and realize that there are many needed changes to come, but despite this they still played for the fans. The one thing that all reports failed to mention, was that with 40 seconds left in a winless game, the last game of the season, a sign that read, “Win or Lose we Love our Senators”, inspired 19,954 fans to rise to their feet and give their Team a roaring standing ovation! For the last 11 years, the Ottawa Senators have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year. The least that the “so-called” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation can do is to give this Canadian team some credit. For the last two weeks, Senator fans had to endure the painful commentating of Hockey Night in Canada. I had to keep checking the guide to make sure I was still on a Canadian channel because all the commendation was going to Pittsburg. Hockey Night in Canada may be a Canadian Icon, but it needs to support more than one Canadian Team. Thankfully, all the Canadian teams are able to broadcast some games on local feeds so we don’t have to endure the abuse we receive from the CBC Commentators because we don’t all wear the “Blue and White”.

What?! Shocked?! What are you taking about? How can this be shocking? The team knew they where not playing as effectively as they used to be. This is just not a proud moment for them. I just don't see why this is shocking. Anyway, I still love my Sens.
Go Sens Fans. That was great what you did last night!

Yes the Senators have their problems but it is naïve to think that one guy is responsible for the complete breakdown of a team. The issues go much deeper and can usually be traced to the top. The lack of a solid captain has plagued this franchise for years and they are continually rewarded with dismal performances and disappointments. I have faith the Canucks have It has been over a decade long experiment proving without a doubt that Alfredsson, Naslund, and Sundin are not fit to lead a team. Maybe it’s genetics or culture, or something but the Swedes have troubles handling pressure and responsibility.

I am a die hard Sens fan, and I am actually happy about the Sens being ousted so easily. This is what many Sens fan have been actually waiting for, a chance for some major changes. Last year's loss to the Ducks exposed many of these internal issues, issues that have been haunting the team for some time now. They got to the final because they faced to right teams at the right time. This year is more of a reflexion of what this team truly is. A mess.

It is time to get to work, and number should be the hiring of a new coach. And lets not make the same mistake that was made last year. We need new blood, we need a high profile coach, we need someone with a backbone... we need Pat Burns.

As for the players, you have to keep Alfie, I think you have to keep Spezza but I think Heatley needs to be the odd man out. He has shown absolutely no intensity or grit in, either this year or last year's post season. His worth is big though. His two straight 50 goal season should be good enough to get our hands on a few good prospects.

In goal, I do think Gerber is good enough to be number one, but the weight of Emery, or the lack of the reassurance that he is number one, is what got to Gerber this year. In Montreal, Gainey understood this, by trading Huet.

It is sad to say, but Ottawa needs to focus on rebuilding, or they will wind up just like the Leafs in the very close future. Alfredsson wil be 36 next year, and he is the poster boy for this team. Who knows, maybe Heatlly abd someone else could get us a top 5 pick for this year's draft?

In the end, this loss was demonsttrative of what needs to be done, but at this point, I have decided to support the Habs - yes, I am jumping on the bandwagon, but only until June.

While there must certainly be changes to the Senators roster in the off season, I would be worried if the Senators buy out Ray Emery. The amount of blame he has faced for being a 'distraction' is shocking. First of all, Emery has not even played since Bryan Murray took over, so I don't see how he can be distracting people. I think what is more likely is that people are bothered by his presence. Why would that be, I wonder? It's a disgrace that he's being made dragged through the mud to account for the poor play of both the forwards and the defence.

It's simple from my perspective: the forwards did not find a way to score (against a playoff team), and the defence could not play in a system. Volchenkov and Phillips cannot play every shift, and the forwards must do more in their own end for the team to succeed. THAT's the problem. These athletes are professionals, any talk of their being 'distracted' to the point of futility by a goaltender who wasn't even featuring in games is total bunk.

How's this for a goaltending controversy: Emery is only 26, has shown he can play well in the post-season, and will certainly improve next season. Gerber is 33, and has major flaws in both his mobility and his stick work. Based on their aggregated career performances, the team should PLAY EMERY, ditch Gerber, and get a backup goaltender who will be comfortable playing ~20 games per year.

There's nothing shocking with the Sens quick departure, if you've been following the team at all in the past few months then you should know that. I would have liked to see them compete more. Heatley and Spezza combined for 1 point during the playoff. That's pathetic plus I can't think of another scoring tandem on any other team that would do that poorly. The top players have to produce. Credit to Alfie for getting out there. I agree that only a few guys showed up, Vermette for sure, Stillman and even Foligno. Plus Gerber really held the team in there and made some monster saves. I guess they looked too soft or took stupid penalties (Neil) which is why they couldn't score. They need more offensive depth, hopefully this summer some changes can address that issue. Their D was shakey from Christmas on, turnovers galore every game etc.
Sad ending to a promising season. Without the fast start they would have finished below the Leafs. Hopefully the team will get some character and come to play next Oct.
Oh, need a good coach, hope Eugene has some cash to throw around

I am so glad I'm an Oilers Fan our future looks so good right now, many were so skeptical when we let Ryan Smyth and Jason Smith go but it was good for them and us as well as the teams they went to. BUT there is no way the Maple Leafs will make the changes they need to and I hope you Sens fans don't end up living the nightmare they do in Toronto. You need to quit pandering to the
"full of them selves players" I knew you were in trouble when players were showing late to practice and the coach did nothing. Hockey more than any other sport exposes lack of team togetherness it is the reason it is a pure team sport you need every one on the team to be on the same page or no STANLEY CUP RUN!
I would love to see all the Canadian teams make the playoffs one year and an all Canada Stanley cup but until Toronto changes the way they do Business no way it will happen. Hope to see you Sens against the Oilers fighting in overtime of the 7th game of the finals sometime.

I just want to say that even if the senator would of made it to the second round it would of been a miracle if they would of won the second the players are tired, with many changes since January the team as been going down the drain, to many trade (new players) that the team needs to build a new connexion. I just hope that next year we will see the sens in the first place....but I'm still a big Sens Fan.

While the senators most certainly had their problems on the ice, they did not start there.

Whispers are getting louder in Ottawa – and other NHL cities – about four particular players, with collective off-ice problems, causing a major dressing room split.

I think Crosby is overrated. If aything I feel Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL. Crosby will win the Cup this year but he is far from being a Captain. Someone who has experience should be Captain, like Roberts. He has been in this league for a while. I think the whole Crosby thing was a publicity thing. Nothing more.

Alex Dion

It makes no difference anyways because the Scotiabank Place is like a morgue, it is only when Toronto or Montreal play there that the place is alive and it is surely not when boneheads like Neil take penalty after penalty for no good reason will they be able to win anything, and to think they had compared the 07-08 Sens to 76-77 Canadians what a joke that was.

Emery will be gone, bought out and sent packing. Spezza will be offered a pay drop or be gone, Redden will be gone, Fisher will be sent out. Alfie will be around as may Heater.