VANCOUVER — The answers are going to come from within for Ottawa Senators.
That’s the only option they have right now.
As the Senators prepare to face the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night at Rogers Arena in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the club has to find a way to end its scoring woes if Ottawa is going to stop this slump and get headed back in the right direction.
While there aren’t many general managers in the league that work the phones harder than Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion to try and make a deal, there isn’t a whole lot available on the trade market right now that’s going to make a marked improvement for the Senators which means it’s up to the players on this roster right now to get the job done.
Yes, anything can change with one phone call at any time of the day, but the market for forwards is thin right now and the Senators are a rebuild so if Dorion does make a trade it would have to be something that would also be beneficial for the organization down the road as well which means the onus is on this roster.
Coming off a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames Saturday and a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild Friday to start this trip, the Senators know the effort has to improve.
“We’ve got to manufacture some offence here,” said alternate captain Mark Borowiecki Monday after the club’s skate here. “We’re playing hard and well, for the most part, defensively but we’re not producing … we’re playing on this razor-thin margin for error where you give up one goal and it’s magnified because we can’t seem to claw our way back.
“It’s not going to be pretty goals off the rush for us. We watch some clips today, it was putting pucks to the net, putting pucks off pads and having guys crash the net and score those ugly goals. Sometimes when you’re in a bit of funk of offensively, you get a few of those, you get a little looser and the floodgates open a little bit. Hopefully we can find that.”
The players expected to put the puck in the net have to step up because coach D.J. Smith has no complaints about the effort he’s getting on a nightly basis, but the club just has to work a little bit harder getting to the net and not get so fancy that the Senators pass up on good opportunities to score if they just shoot the puck.
“We’ve got to bear down and be hungrier,” Smith said. “When you go through that last game (in Calgary) it’s even chances, so our last little bit here we’ve had more chances — or even chances — every night and the puck doesn’t go in.
“So you’ve got to do that but you’ve got to beat down — if you’ve got a chance to shoot, you’ve probably got to shoot a little more. We’re going to try to get pucks on the net and you never know what can go in.”
There’s no question the players are feeling the heat. Centre Chris Tierney hasn’t scored since Oct. 23 against the Detroit Red Wings and his slump has hit 18 games. No, he’s not the only one, but he noted Tuesday that when you’re in this situation it’s natural to grip the stick a little tighter because you’re trying to score.
“We probably just need to shoot more pucks,” said Tierney. “We’re getting some looks that weren’t going in, we had a couple of chances last game that we’re just not executing or we just don’t have the finish right now. It’s a little bit bearing down and not putting too much pressure on yourself by loosening up a bit.
That’s easy to say but harder to accomplish.
“As long as you’re getting chances you’ve got to stay positive,” Tierney said. “The chances are there. You can’t get negative on yourself because that’s when you start not even getting the chances.”
The Senators hope they can find their scoring touch immediately.
Twitter: @sungarrioch
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