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There is no doubting Ales Hemsky has been a nice addition to the Senators lineup. Over the past two games, Hemsky has assisted on six goals and found instant chemistry with Jason Spezza. For most of the season, Sens fans bemoaned the fact that Spezza was not playing with quality wingers. These last two games with Hemsky have only served to tease everyone, wondering what could have been if Hemsky was riding shotgun with Spezza all season long. But would the Senators be sitting in a playoff spot if they had acquired Hemsky a few months ago? Since Im officially banned from using the phrase "probably not" in this town, I will instead answer by saying I think its highly doubtful the Senators would be sitting in a playoff spot if Hemsky had been here since October. Ottawas big issue this season has been in their own end. And to be brutally honest, that has been their biggest problem since Paul MacLean took over as head coach a couple of years ago. To MacLeans credit, he has drastically improved the offense on this team. When they missed the playoffs in Cory Cloustons last season at the helm, Ottawa scored just 193 goals and was one of only three NHL teams who failed to crack the 200-goal barrier in 2010-11. So heading into MacLeans first season, the big question was: Who is going to score goals for the Senators? But MacLean worked his offensive magic and had terrific seasons from the likes of Spezza, Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson and the team ended up scoring 249 goals and ranking in the top five in the NHL in that category. Thats a remarkable transformation; bottom five in the league in goals one year to top five the next. But Ottawas defensive game showed no real improvement in that first season under MacLean. They ranked 24th in goals against under Clouston (giving up 250 goals) and they also ranked 24th in goals against under MacLean (giving up 240 goals). In fact, no team that made the playoffs in 2012 allowed more regular season goals than the Senators. And when you give up as many goals as the Senators do, you either make the playoffs by the skin of your teeth - or miss them altogether. This trend appears to be rearing its ugly head again this season, as the Senators have no real problems scoring goals. They currently rank in the top half of the Eastern Conference in goals scored with 185 - more than playoff-bound teams like Montreal, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers. But the Senators have surrendered an astounding 213 goals this season - the second-worst total in the entire NHL. And no matter how many goals Hemsky would have added to the offensive side of the ledger, its hard to imagine how he would have helped with the defensive breakdowns that have been problematic with this team for months. A lot of people will point to the lockout-shortened season a year ago, where the Senators were the stingiest team in the Eastern Conference, sporting a 2.08 GAA. But last year needs to be taken with a grain of salt because it was only a 48-game schedule and the Senators were still giving up a ton of quality chances. Take a look at Ottawas NHL ranking in shots allowed/game since MacLean took over and you will see they didnt actually have a great defensive improvement in that department last season: Shots Allowed/Game (NHL Rank) 2011-12: 32.0/game (29th in NHL)2012-13: 31.3/game (23rd in NHL)2013-14: 34.4/game (28th in NHL) Even though the Senators were near the top of the league in GAA in 2012-13, they were still giving up too many shots and chances each night. They werent necessarily playing a tough, defensive style. Instead, they were bailed out by unbelievable goaltending that was producing numbers that were never going to be sustainable for the long-term. Craig Anderson, for example, had a .933 save percentage while short-handed last season - a number that has tumbled by more than 100 points this year. In short, the Senators brilliant goaltending masked the issues for this team last season. Now that the goaltending has been average this season, it highlights the defensive issues that have been around for the better part of three seasons. The best teams in the NHL over the past three years - like Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles - have all ranked in the top 10 in fewest shots allowed. Even a team like the Blackhawks, who have the reputation of being offensive-oriented, have allowed the fourth-fewest shots against this season. Again, MacLean deserves a ton of credit for turning this team into an offensive juggernaut. And if Hemsky re-signs next season, there is every reason to believe he can flourish in this system. But now is the time that MacLean and his staff need to fix the defensive flaws with this team. He is trying to implement a similar system he used in Detroit when they won the Stanley Cup in 2007-08. That season, the Red Wings had no trouble scoring goals, ranking third in the NHL in that department. But they also allowed the fewest shots per game at 23.5 - the best number in the entire league. The offensive comparisons to Detroit are accurate, but its the defensive game for Ottawa that still has miles to go. Bryan Murray didnt make any trades involving defensemen at the deadline because the organization believes they have the right personnel on the back end. If thats the case, its the system that needs to be adjusted moving forward. So when it comes to the re-build that started a couple of years ago, its fair to say the Senators are only halfway there. Wholesale Golden Knights Jerseys . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans. http://www.cheapgoldenknightsjerseys.com/ . Plata blasted a rising shot to the upper left corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. He got the kick after referee Allen Chapman ruled Chris Tierney fouled John Stertzer in the penalty area. Cheap Adidas Golden Knights Jerseys . Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse will reunite at this weekends season-opening World Cup at Canada Olympic Park as they begin their buildup to the Winter Games in Sochi. Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys China . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep.TORONTO - On Saturday afternoon, less than three years after winning an unlikely championship together in Dallas, Dwane Casey and Jason Kidd will sit on opposite ends of the Air Canada Centre sideline, getting set to make their postseason debut as head coaches. Just ahead of tip-off, as their teams stretch, shoot around and a sellout crowd - draped in white - files into the building, the two coaches will meet at centre court. Theyll shake hands, exchange a few words then return to their respective benches in the hopes of sending the other home for an early summer vacation. They havent spoken since finding out that the Raptors and Nets would face off in round one of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which isnt to say theres a lack of mutual respect between the two. On the contrary, theres actually a whole lot of it. Friendship is for the offseason, Casey always boasts. Until then, these former colleagues have a job to do, and theyre in each others way. Theyve traveled down dissimilar paths to get to this point. Casey, who celebrated his 57th birthday on Thursday, has been coaching in the NBA for over two decades. After serving as a long-time assistant under George Karl in Seattle, he spent a couple seasons as the head man with the Timberwolves, where he coached Nets veteran and future hall of famer Kevin Garnett. In 2011, his third season as Rick Carlisles lead assistant in Dallas, Casey helped guide the experienced Mavericks to an unexpected championship, with Kidd starting at point guard. Kidd, now 41, was in season 17 of his illustrious 19-year career. He was a retired NBA player for 10 days before becoming a head coach this past summer. "First of all, I texted him and [asked] him if hes lost his mind," Casey joked, asked about Kidds move to the bench earlier this season. The Nets controversial decision to hand the reins over to Kidd, fresh off his final campaign in New York, was met with more criticism than any coaching hire in recent memory. When his first season as a bench boss got off to a rocky start many called for his head, but he had a steadfast supporter in Casey, who knew it was only a matter of time before Kidd and his veteran Nets team rocketed back to top of the East. "Hes going to be a good coach because he was a computer on the floor and he just has to transfer that to his players," Casey said ahead of a late November meeting between the two teams. The Nets were 3-10 going into that game. "It takes time." "Hes one of the toughest minded guys Ive been around and Ive coached, and Ive been around some strong minded guys, but he was definitely one of them," Casey added prior to their next meeting, two months later. The Nets, 10-21 on Jan. 1, had won five in a row before losing in Toronto that night. "I knew mentally he was going to stay strong and stay into it and it would be a matter of time." Brooklyn would go on to finish the campaign with the second best record among Eastern Conference teams in 2014 and Kidd became a two-time Coach of the Month winner. As Casey met with the media Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before Game 1, the Raptors coach was caught off guard when one reporter pointed out that he and Kidd would be sharing their playoff head coaching debuts. "I never thought about that," he said in earnest, but hes not the least bit surprised to see his counterpart in the position that hhes in.dddddddddddd "Jason was always a step ahead of the curve," said Casey, the Easts Coach of the Month for December. "I think point guards are coaches on the floor, they should be. Theyve gone through their whole career figuring out things on the fly, on the court. So I think thats the difference in Jason. Jason has been a thinker his whole career and hes doing a good job with Brooklyn." For these old friends, this series should turn into something of a chess match. The Nets rookie coach has a veteran-laden roster at his disposal. A big factor in his teams 2014 reversal of fortunes has been Kidds commitment to a small lineup, starting a couple of point guards in the backcourt and using Paul Pierce as their mobile, perimeter-oriented power forward. "I think they established an identity, much like we did," Casey told TSN.ca in an exclusive conversation Friday. "I think putting Pierce at the four position was a huge turnaround for them. Solidifying the smaller lineup really helped them." Casey has the benefit of a versatile roster. With Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors can go against the grain and put pressure on the visiting Nets with a size and strength advantage or they can match-up using their own version of the small lineup. "Philosophy is personnel driven," Casey wisely pointed out. With Johnson and Patrick Patterson - two versatile forwards who can rebound and also step out and defend on the perimeter - Torontos coach is confident his team can utilize both their small and big units with success in this series. "Its going to be huge," he said of that versatility. "If we stay big weve got to really pound the boards and take advantage of it if they stay small but at the same time theyre such a lethal three-point shooting team. Its hard for our bigs, with our mentality to get out and guard the three-point line in those situations so were going to have to figure that out as far as when we do go small, who has the advantage. If we have an advantage on the boards or inside well try to do that but if were getting killed with three-point shooting then well have to make some adjustments." Caseys quiet confidence and poise has rubbed off on his team all season but those characteristics have never been more important than they are now. By now youve heard of their inexperience, Caseys embraced it because, what choice does he have? They cant pretend like theyve been somewhere they havent, they wont pretend to be something theyre not. If you want to count them out because of it, Casey understands, but he doesnt advise it. "I dont want to diminish [experience], its very important," he said. "In any walk of life its important if youre going to do a job at a high level to have as much experience as you can possibly have. We are who we are, we cant change it. The way our guys get experience is to go through this. But at the end of the day you still have to go out and play the game. Theres been a lot of young teams that beat older teams in the history of the game and were ready for that challenge. I think were better with a chip on our shoulder, being the desperate team. I think we struggle when were the favourite so I like that part about it. I dont even talk about it to our players, about experience. Hey, they dont know any better, so lets go play the game." ' ' '