Martin sees the light
Sens' improvement has coach cautiously optimistic
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
While he's a little happier these days, Senators coach Jacques Martin knows his team still has plenty of work to do.
His Senators are only six points behind the pace they set through 31 games last year during their 115-point campaign, but face a long way to climb to get back to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
As the Senators prepare for the NHL's holiday break with games against the Florida Panthers tonight at home and tomorrow vs. the Sabres in Buffalo, Martin wants to see more consistency.
But, if victories over the Blackhawks on Thursday (6-1) and the Rangers on Saturday (3-1) mean anything, the Senators have taken a step in the right direction.
"I really think we've been playing well for the last month," Martin said in a conference call with reporters yesterday. "I know we lost the game against Boston (3-2 eight days ago) and earlier this month to New Jersey (2-1), but we had a chance to win both of those games.
"We need to improve. We know we've got to get better in certain areas. The difference between us being up there with Toronto, Philadelphia and New Jersey is our record in one-goal games. We've won (1-of-12) ... if we win half of those, we're right there with them. That's an area where I'd like to see us improve. We can get it done."
Ottawa has had a tendency to play down to the level of its opponent, but that's not what happened against the Rangers or Blackhawks.
Chicago is the worst team in the league and the Senators manhandled them.
The underachieving Rangers tried to knock the Senators out of the rink, but Ottawa stood its ground. Senators defenceman Zdeno Chara went toe-to-toe with Matthew Barnaby and got the job done.
"That's what really pleased me: It was the way we played physically," Martin said of the Rangers game. "I thought we played a good, physical game and we worked hard along the boards. That's what you have to do in this league to be successful.
"I also liked the way our defence jumped into the play. I thought Curtis Leschyshyn, not just because he scored, and Shane Hnidy did an excellent job. They've shown that we've got depth on defence."
The Senators have seen an attitude shift take place since the calendar changed months. Winger Marian Hossa has been in all-star form all season, but he's starting to cash in on opportunities he missed earlier in the year.
Winger Martin Havlat, who was used on the left side against the 'Hawks and Rangers with Radek Bonk and Hossa, has to continue to use his speed the way he has in the last two games because he can be the difference.
So, have they turned the corner?
"It's difficult to say we're back because of (how well) we played last year," said Leschyshyn, an assistant captain whose goal was his first since March 23. "I think we've still got some areas that we can work on, but I believe that we're going in the right direction.
"We know that we've got the people here to get the job done. We've got a great skill level and we've just got to make sure we keep working as hard as we can to get the wins. We've been doing a lot of good things and we just have to keep it going to have success."
INJURY UPDATE: The Senators won't have D Brian Pothier available for tonight's game. He skated for the second straight day after suffering a concussion nine days ago, but the club is being cautious. "He had a pretty serious concussion in Atlanta two years ago and I would say he's doubtful (for tonight's game vs. Florida). You've got be careful," said Martin ... As expected, C Mike Fisher is close to a return. Martin said he'll either suit up at home on Boxing Day vs. Pittsburgh or Dec. 28 against Atlanta. "We'll just have to see how he is," said Martin.
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Martin sees the light
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