Ottawa Senators: From Penthouse to Outhouse

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

Despite a loss to the Anaheim Ducks in the Stanley Cup final last season, the Ottawa Senators were on top of the world and on top of their division as the 2007-08 season began, 14 games in and the Sens were still undefeated. The streak came to an end in early November. Still, by the end of 2007, Ottawa had a 9 point lead in the Northeast and appeared well on its way to postseason berth.

But the gods of hockey are fickle and so is goaltender Ray Emery, particularly when it comes to team practice.  

Because of Emery's mediocre game play, Martin Gerber was given more time between the pipes. That didn't sit well with Emery who, during a practice, smashed his stick in frustration, complaining about his reduced ice time. From there, he missed, or was late to other practices which put the harsh media spotlight on the team's goal-tending woes, naming Emery in all sorts of trade rumors, none of which ever materialized. It wasn't for a lack of trying, though, general manager Bryan Murray admitted he tried to unload Emery, but there were no takers. 

Then, in February, coach John Paddock was fired because of the team's lackluster performance throughout that month. That was despite having the best record in the East as the All-Star game approached. 

Say what you will, that kind of shake-up can rattle a team and not always for the better.

In spite of all this, however, the real problem for this team has nothing to do with Emery or Paddock. What threw them into a free fall, was the lack of secondary scoring. 

Heading into Thursday's game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sens have gone 136 minutes without a goal. In that time, the team could sit down to watch Slap Shot, another hockey comedy, and still have 13 minutes left over. 

This is a team with Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley on its core line.  Unfortunately, that trio is all it really has. When those three aren't at their best, (and they certainly have not been in the last couple of games) it's up to guys like Cory Stillman and Wade Redden to step up. 

All Redden has managed to do, though, is fall down. In the last 26 games, Redden has zero goals and six assists. Dismiss it as a bad year if you want, but when their playoff pictures look fuzzy at best, that argument doesn't hold water and it certainly won't hold up for fans in the nation's capital. 

Stillman has missed the last two games with a leg injury and his return could be a boost for the team. Still, since his arrival in Ottawa, he's managed only three goals and 15 assists. You would hope for a little more than that as your team starts to sink like a stone in the division. 

What to do now?

Little, at this point. The Sens are in tough with only a couple of games left to play. If the team fails to make it to the postseason, big changes are likely guaranteed, the extent of which is unknown.  

At the start of this season the Ottawa Senators appeared untouchable, larger than life with a 15-2-0 start. To use a tired cliché: The bigger they are the harder they fall. 

And the Sens will leave a mighty big crater when they finally hit rock bottom.