Ottawa Senators to work on resolving defensive problems
In the National Hockey League, having a strong defence is just as important as having a potent offence. The Ottawa Senators have struggled greatly on both counts, and their 10-10-1 record
after the first 20 games of the season stands as proof of this.
TSN.ca reports that most of the Senators’ defensive problems have occurred in their own end. Part of that problem has stemmed to the rotating personnel changes that have
occurred. However, things appeared to be improving for the Sens as they rolled to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Monday 22 November.
Defenceman Chris Phillips is one member of the Ottawa squad who thinks that the team has to make a stronger effort to improve themselves defensively.
“Having different guys to play with has been a bit of an adjustment for everybody and even throughout the season we’ve been playing with different guys,” Phillips said of the team’s defensive
woes.
“I think for the most part, after a slow start, we’re starting to come around.”
The Sens’ defensive problems have also had a noticeably negative effect on the stats of some of the team’s defencemen. Phillips and fellow rearguard Sergei Gonchar, a newcomer to the team,
currently have some of the worst plus-minus ratings in the entire league. Gonchar currently carries a minus-12 rating, while Phillips is a minus-11. Only three members of Ottawa’s defence corps have plus ratings.
“It’s probably a bigger looked at stat for a player like me than some of the other guys and it looks terrible right now,” Phillips said of his statistics.
“There are lots of times when it’s a skewed stat and when you’re changing – just getting on, just getting off, whatever – but, when you average it out, if you’re getting minuses, you’re
getting scored against, and you’d obviously like that to turn around.”
Having a minus rating has been frustrating for Phillips, but despite that, he is optimistic that things will change for the better as the season progresses.
“Personally, I feel like the game is coming around, but I’m still collecting minuses,” said Phillips. “It’s frustrating and it always seems like once you’re down, it’s even a tougher one
to climb back up the other way. Hopefully, over the next three-quarters of the season, it will turn around.”
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