Senators owner Eugene Melnyk did give Murray and Clouston a vote of confidence two weeks ago， for what that is worth. Probably not much， if the losing continues.

gameTick-tock, struggling Senators on the clock，OTTAWA For weeks， weve heard the catchphrases of a slumping team.

Though their shot counts are decent， they dont generate the scoring chances they used to， dont have the push to draw teams into penalties.

If we had capitalized on those early scoring chances， it would have been a different game.

But when a team spends to the cap limit， results are expected.

On Wednesday， Clouston shuffled his lines again (insert Titanic deck chair jokes here)， dumping high-priced winger Alex Kovalev to the fourth line for a second time this season.

Rumours have been swirling that Clouston could be canned， with general manager Bryan Murray going back behind the bench， but there is just as much speculation of a two-for-one replacgameTick-tock, struggling Senators on the clockement of Murray and Clouston， with someone like TSN analyst Pierre McGuire， a former Senators assistant coach with ties to the original club founders， coming in to manage the team and install his choice of coach.

When has an Ottawa team looked this slow? Remember the great counter-attack clubs with Daniel Alfredsson， Jason Spezza， Dany Heatley (and Marian Hossa before him)?

We still believe in the guys in this room.

Another point about that fateful Jan. 13 day in New York City is that Ottawas record was 23-21-4 at the time. Half decent， in other words.

When a scoring chance does arise， such as the Spezza chance on his first shift in Montreal， there is enormous pressure to bury it， knowing the here we go again syndrome is just around the corner.

Murray is getting a lot of heat， and deserves some， but because he served as head coach here beforehand， people forget he has only been on the job for three years， not a long time for a GM.

And so on it goes， with three home games (New York Rangers， New Jersey， Atlanta) they need to have.

The effort is there.

Its too early to write off the season， but it wont be long， barring a minor miracle， before the Senators start viewing themselves as a trade-deadline seller of veteran talent， and a hoarder of prospects and draft picks.

Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to 17 games with a pair of goals， and the Pittsburgh Penguins won their 11th straight game with a 5-2 rout of ...

And after 29 games， the 09-10 Senators were 14-11-4 compared to todays 12-15-2 record.

This is a score-first-or-else kind of team.

Its easy to play against us when we dont score on those early (chances)， said head coach Cory Clouston.

Im here to remind you that， like your mom and dad always said about money， 11-game win streaks dont grow on trees.

Ottawa Citizen

Of their top six forwards， only Spezza and Mike Fisher represent much of a speed threat anymore. Milan Michalek had good wheels until a third knee surgery slowed him down. The younger Senators arent all that fast.

Really， what else can Ottawa Senators players say when they have lost 17 of their first 29 hockey games， 15 in regulation? Growing fainter is the hope they can catch lightning in a bottle， yet again， as they did last January when a childish romp in Central Park preceded a victory over the New York Rangers， which sparked an 11-game winning streak to salvage the season.

At least it was a solid practice， at a good tempo.

What else can a coach do?

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We cant get down on ourselves.

In recent games， third- and fourth-liners Chris Kelly and Jesse Winchester have been the teams best overall players， and， of course， Ryan Shannon， another fourth-line member， can fly.

Unless and until hes extended， Murray doesnt have the clout to make drastic changes， and he admits he has brought in enough coaches (John Paddock， Craig Hartsburg， Clouston) since 2007.

Heres the math: To get to 88 points， which was the playoff cutoff last spring， the Senators need to produce 62 points in their remaining 53 games.

Nailing the transition， whether its with management， coaches or captains， has not been a long suit of this club.

We have to shoot more.

When does a slumping team get reclassigamefied as simply not a very good team? If theyre not there already， the Senators are close to that point.

Rumours are bound to fly when neither Murray or Clouston has a contract past this season.

At the 31-game mark last season， which would match games through Friday of this week， Ottawa was 16-11-4. In other words， the Senators need one three-game winning streak just to get back to .500， (lets debate another day whether 15-15-2 should really be considered .500) and then a longer streak down the road to become a playoff team.

For example， a 30-21-2 mark would produce 62 points (the Senators have produced 26 points in 29 games to date). Is this group capable of winning 30 of its next 53? Maybe. But it would take a dramatic turnaround by a fragile team that has scored exactly 17 goals in its past 12 games， an almost incomprehensible drought.

Sadly， some great hockey minds got away from this organization over the past decade when Peter Chiarelli， Ray Shero and， further back， Rick Dudley， moved on for one reason or another.