Ducks vs Senators RECAP: Nine in a Row

Well folks, here we are again. The Anaheim Ducks have found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and the Ottawa Senators claimed a 2-1 victory in overtime at Honda Center on Wednesday night. I’ll admit, I was out of things to say in the last recap, and I can’t pretend that I have new ideas for this one.

The bottom line is this; if you take a 1-0 lead into the third period against the worst team in the league and end up blowing said lead to lose 2-1, there have to be repercussions. Perhaps fans won’t get the gratification of seeing those repercussions come in the form of action against the coaching staff, but something has to give.

The Ducks have now made history by losing their ninth game in a row for the first time in franchise history. The offense has forgotten how to score entirely and John Gibson should not have to stand on his head against a team that has allowed three or more goals for literally a month’s worth of games consecutively. There has to come a point where there are no more excuses and something must be done.

I understand the argument that the team has battled injury all year and was missing key pieces at almost every given point in the season. I also understand the argument that the Ducks’ system is clearly broken and changes need to be made in the coaching department to find a way for the Ducks to get a groove back.

At the end of the day, when you’ve lost eight in a row and have a chance to host the Ottawa Senators with a goaltender like John Gibson in net, there is absolutely no reason that you should lose that game. The Ducks roster may not be that of the Tampa Bay Lightning or even that of a serious playoff contender, but they are not this bad.

Jakob Silfverberg and John Gibson are the only two players on the Ducks who looked like they gave a damn during this game, and as much as players want to say that they are still hearing coach Randy Carlyle’s messages and that they still believe they have what it takes to win, it becomes more and more difficult to believe every day.

I won’t be doing a best and worst for this game, nor will I be highlighting a three stars of the game. Instead, I want to turn the discussion over to all of you.

Let me know in the comments what you think needs to be done to get this Ducks team back into the win column and back into looking like a playoff contender. Would you fire Randy Carlyle? Make a trade? Both? I ask because I am truly, honestly at a loss now. I have no more ideas.