Monday, October 19, 2009

Rid of bad eggs, Senators flourishing

Could it be that Bryan Murray's master plan is working?

The Senators rushed goaltender Pascal Leclaire following their win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, looking every bit the gelling unit that they're meant to be at this point of the season.

Things are coming together nicely right now. Leclaire was coming off another solid game; Alex Kovalev gave Habs fans every reason to want him back; The past couple of games, the Sens increased depth has given the team a new dimension.

Getting rid of a few so-called bad eggs has apparently done wonders for the club.

I've never been a subscriber to the notion that players like Ray Emery or Dany Heatley can single-handedly bring about the downfall of a hockey team. Especially considering the fact that, in both cases, main-stream journalists have been reluctant to explicitly state the reason for their departure (moreso for Emery, but I'm sure there's another story for Heatley). Emery can't be blamed for the inconsistent play of Martin Gerber, and Heatley can't be blamed for the Senators only having one line capable of scoring.

But rather than dwelling on the past, Murray looked forward.

There are no stories about Sens players running amok in Hummers these days. It's all about hockey. And that's exactly the way that Murray planned it. The team is playing well, and the players seem to be focused on winning each game.

The Sens are a long, long way from Stanley Cup contenders these days, but at least we're hearing more about the team and less about the troubles of individual players. And apparently, that leads to wins.
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