Ottawa Senators

No Karlsson, BIG problem for Senators against Wild
March 31, 2017, 9:53 AM ET [32 Comments]
Jared Crozier
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Hart trophy voters take note. Sometimes you take the value of something for granted until it is gone. Such is the case with Erik Karlsson, whose absence against the Minnesota Wild that he is not only the heart but apparently also the soul of the team he now wears the "C" for.

Without Karlsson, as well as Marc Methot, the Senators were a shell of even what they are on bad nights, against a Wild team that was mired in a ridiculous slump and playing a goalie who hadn't faced NHL shooters Since February 2016. And they laid an egg, not only physically but emotionally with their leader sitting in the press box.

It looked like there were 18 Bobby Ryan's out there instead of just 1. There was a complete lack of intensity, let alone execution. Heading into this one, even before it was announced that Karlsson was going from game time decision to not playing, that Craig Anderson was going to need a good game on the heels of a fatal mistake in Philly, and that didn't happen either. The Senators iced a blue line with Dion Phaneuf and a bunch of kids who totaled fewer NHL games than he himself has played.

There can be reasons or explanations as to why the execution wasn't there...injuries play a factor and in addition to Karlsson the Senators also lost Alex Burrows before the game and Zack Smith during it, Mark Stone is still not quite right despite returning from his injury and the already thin blue line was like onion paper without their top pairing. But at this point in the season, sitting where they are, there can not be an explanation for a perceived lack of effort, which is what I saw last night. Nineteen shots on goal in total, and only 15 hits. In a perfect world, either you have the puck or you are trying to get it. Ottawa was doing neither last night, and it was frustrating for Senators fans to watch, especially seeing the out of town scoreboard where Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia all won their respective games, and all kept their playoff hopes alive. The only team that might have put up a worse effort was the Islanders, who allowed a 5-spot to the Flyers in the first period before realizing it was a game and clawing their way back to respectability.

If the Senators rely on Karlsson that much, that they can't put forth a solid effort if he is not present, given where they sit in the standings he is easily the most valuable player to his team in the league, and thank goodness it has been over 324 games since they have had to experience life without Karlsson, and hopefully he is able to return on Saturday in Winnipeg.

Because another performance like last night will certainly start to raise the heart rate and put not making the playoffs back into the conversation as things tighten up and the Senators have allowed teams below them to reel them in by dropping 7 of their last 9 games.