Canadá, Ottawa Citizen, Inglês

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Steve Staios expressed his confidence in this group of Ottawa Senators during a State of the Union address at the Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.

But the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager says now the talk has to turn to action and that “each individual in the room needs to step up.”

The Senators will reach the quarter mark of the season when the Vancouver Canucks visit the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday and have posted an 8-9-1 record as they prepare for Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Staois told reporters he’s not happy with the club’s record and he knows the time for moral victories in Ottawa has long since passed.

“We’ve addressed that with the team. It’s time to get the results and to find that consistency,” Staois said. “You’ve got to be prepared to play in these games for 60 minutes, but also deal with anything that may come your way during these games.”

Trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the club woke up on Wednesday trying to find the answers after an ugly 5-2 loss to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

The Senators have been competitive most nights under coach Travis Green and his staff, but the reality is the club’s record just isn’t good enough, which is why Staois is trying to help this group right the ship.

The No. 1 area of improvement he wants to see with the core of captain Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig is the ability to handle adversity.

“We’re 8-9-1 and they keep score for a reason,” Staios said. “Do I think we’ve played better than that? Sure. For us to figure out as a group why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock. For most games, the team looks and feels not only like a competitive team but a playoff-looking team. We’ve proven against good teams.

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“Now, we’re still where we are as far as our record. So, why is that? Those are the questions and what’s been addressed with the group. We’re still trying to figure out the mental resolve of the game, how to better in certain situations and how to deal with adversity throughout the games.

“That’s the next challenge for this group.”

Staios believes the Senators are close to resolving those issues.

“I don’t think this is a dire situation for this group at all,” he said. “We’ve played well for long stretches. We’ve identified the areas we need to improve. You can use all the words you want. Is it maturity? Experience or whatever it might be? We have to figure out how we can better.”

Since people in this market have seen this movie before with the Senators; there is concern among the fan base. Goaltender Linus Ullmark has given up more than five goals in six appearances, the club has lost three straight as the Knights arrive in town and the record is disappointing.

Let’s start with the goaltending. Ullmark has a 4-5-1 record with an .894 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average.

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“Yeah, it could be better if you ask both guys,” Staios said. “We have faith in both guys and they’ve proven it. We have some players exceeding expectations and some that aren’t. That’s how the season goes.

“You’re going to have players that play well for stretches and it gets magnified if you’re playing goal. It shouldn’t be an excuse if it’s not quite up to standards, but it will get there. We have confidence in that. In the meantime, let’s find ways to win those games.”

Staios isn’t in any hurry to make a trade to shake up this group. He’s not there yet and doesn’t see that kind of a move as a necessity.

“You’re always looking at areas to improve. I don’t see any glaring area where I think that this group needs a great deal of improvement, because they’ve shown it and now it’s showing it consistently,” Staios said.

“The things we’ve talked about and what we’ve addressed, I guess time will tell, but certainly, I think every general manager is doing their job by always looking to see if there’s anything you can do. But I can’t see one major area with this group, because they’ve shown how they can play in certain games this year and it’s been in the majority of games.”

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He wants the younger players to learn that every night isn’t going to be scripted the way you’d like so learn to deal with it to have success.

“The good news is that we have high-character individuals, well-intended that want to be coached, and you’ve heard Travis speak to that,” Staios said. “They want to get better. Identifying this area for them, they have to go through these experiences and learn how to deal with them.”

He believes Green and his staff have done a good job getting this group to play better defensively.

“Now we’re looking to add in other layers. In the games we’ve played well, we’ve created an identity of being fast, hard-working and physical,” Staios said.

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