With 2017 coming to an end, the poor seemed to be getting poorer in the NHL.
The Montreal Canadiens lost ugly, while Max Pacioretty trade rumors swirl. Things are as bad - or worse - for the Ottawa Senators after a humbling 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
After a rare, welcomed 5-4 win against the Blue Jackets on Friday, Ottawa fell to 12-17-8, aka “not that far ahead of the Buffalo Sabres.” The Senators have lost five of six games, and going back further, they’re 4-14-3 in their last 21 contests. Yeesh.
Maybe it’s the increased attention stemming from the holiday season, or the severity of losing 5-0 to a team the Senators bounced from the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the intensity of criticism seems to be increasing.
This has all the tell-tale signs of things cratering into something ugly.
- Again, those results, both short-term and long-term. But yeah, they’re 12 points short of the final wild card spot and are second-to-last in the East.
- As you can see from the video above this post’s headline, a Senators fan threw a jersey. It’s melodramatic and kind of a trope at this point, but that’s often a bad sign of discontent.
- Members of the media are also forecasting doom.
A few examples:
This disgraceful for the #Sens Home ice and the night after a win.
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) December 31, 2017
So how about that 1-3-1 ? Ottawa is toast.
— Billy Jaffe (@BJaffe) December 31, 2017
Not good. These losing ways go back some time, but you wonder how far off this team might be from the breaking point.
—
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.