Senators Fall 8-5 in Edmonton, Still Struggling with the Basics

The Senators have now lost 8 in a row, losing 8-5 to Edmonton tonight. To their credit, when they fell behind 5-1 and then 8-3 they didn't roll over and die. They kept battling and, as they've been doing quite a bit lately, the Sens outshot their opponent (38-33) while still getting thumped by them.

Brady Tkachuk and Colin White paced the Sens with a goal and an assist apiece. Austin Watson Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson had the other goals for Ottawa. Artem Zub got an assist in his first NHL game

But the absence of Thomas Chabot, Ottawa's number one defenceman, was glaringly obvious. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for 11 points on the evening. They had 5 apiece before the game was barely half way through.

You'd like to think this team has shaken off the rust by now with everybody close to being on the same page. But that's certainly not the case. Not yet. And certainly not without Chabot around to consume quality minutes (Mike Reilly was tonight's ice time leader for Ottawa).

As an example of being disorganized, I want to focus on the first goal of the game. Domink Kahun scored just 8 seconds into the contest. It came on a lost face off, which the Sens did tonight 59% of the time. The Kahun shot deflected in off Josh Norris' stick and past Marcus Hogberg.

Just bad luck. Bad bounces happen.

What I'd like to address is the defensive zone face-off setup and how the five Senators on the ice either didn't know how they were supposed to set up or they didn't know what their roles were.

Maybe both.

Literally everyone seemed confused about their jobs. And if this team is still disorganized in something as basic as a defensive zone face off set up, and what to do when they lose a draw, then it's hard to imagine them finding their way anytime soon in the other more complex areas of the game.

By Steve Warne | Sens Nation Hockey