Things I've learned

But the most important lesson I've learned is #5 - Don't ever judge a hockey team in the MLB jerseys
midst of an extended streak - winning or losing. You need to look at the big picture to gain a little perspective.

Two weeks ago, the Senators were the toast of Ottawa. We wanted to plan the parade route down Bank Street. We were ready to say they were a better team without Dany Heatley. Heck, the city was ready to do the unthinkable and even embrace Alex Kovalev.

Fast forward to today and we're getting into crisis mode. The same Kovalev who was being lauded for his strong play before the break, is being tabbed as an overpaid floater by his harshest critics. Cory Clouston has gone from a Jack Adams candidate to a coach who can't seem to motivate his top players. The Sens have transformed from a team that was challenging for a division title to a team looking in the rear view mirror in the standings.

So what's happened to Ottawa in the past two weeks?

Truth be told, the answer is quite boring.

Nothing has really happened to the Senators.

They were never as good as we advertised during their 11-game winning streak. And the opposite is true right now: They are not as bad as we are making them out to be during this current dry spell.

It's not time to hit the panic button at all. It's time to look at the big picture and realize that the Sens have been one of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference for most of the season. And they'll finish there as well, because their track record indicates they will probably win anywhere from five-to-seven of their final 12 games.

And there's one other rule I've learned as well: Looking at the big picture and trying to gain a little perspective is really boring.

Next week, I will try and spice up the blog by igniting a goalie controversy or at the very least, I will suggest that Alfredsson should be benched to send a message to the team.

If you look at the big picture, the 2009-10 Ottawa Senators have been a fairly consistent bunch. Here's a look at their record in 10-game segments so far this season:

And therein lies the greatest proof of how much the importance of goaltending has fallen in the NHL.

The Ottawa Senators fan base - who have been tormented by mediocre playoff goaltending in the past - would actually choose to face the best goalie on the planet in a seven-game series right now.

The only stretch that really jumps out, is the 9-1-0 stretch from games 51-60. Other than that, the Senators have been a fairly consistent team, hovering around .500. But that terrific run in mid-January caused inflated expectations, so that their current stretch of 3-6-1 hockey looks terrible. They seem like a team in a free-fall, when in reality, they are just going through a fairly typical 10-game stretch.

And when you look at the big picture, the Senators are exactly where many people thought they'd be at the start of the season. Are they as good as Washington or Pittsburgh? No. Are they better than Toronto and Carolina? Absolutely.

I would have no hesitation putting the Senators in the same grouping as Buffalo, New Jersey, Montreal, Philadelphia and Boston. The Eastern Conference playoff race has been punctuated by streaky teams and the Sens fit right into that mix.

Ottawa will make the playoffs. They might even win a round. But anything beyond that should be considered a bonus by the fan base in Ottawa. The external expectation levels for this team need to be adjusted. The 11-game winning streak clouded the judgement of media and fans alike, to the point where we prematurely put them on a pedestal. Just pretend that the streak never happened. What would your expectation levels be for the team then?