Senators' Lazar moves on from minus-3 game
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While all the Senators had to play catch up with their sleep after an all-night flight back from Arizona, Curtis Lazar rightfully lost no shut-eye time over his minus-3 rating against the Coyotes Saturday.
"Everyone has their assignment on the ice, and you want to do your part," Lazar said Tuesday morning. "Sometimes there's a break down here or there that's going to lead to a goal against. Everyone is at fault for it.
"I was minus-3 and on all three goals I couldn't really have done anything. All those statisticians ... (saying) oh we had a horrible game, blah, blah, blah ... I just brushed it aside and moved on."
Lazar was a minus-3 on only one other occasion -- last Feb. 7, in a 4-1 loss to Columbus. In 67 games as a rookie, he finished plus-1.
At the 23-game mark in 2015-16, Lazar was one of only six Senators with a dash, at minus-1. Jared Cowen led the team with a plus-9 rating.
Lazar's problems with the plus-minus rating system includes players getting a minus when their team is scored on while its goalie is on the in favour of an extra attacker.
"I think they really need to get rid of that ... you're a minus if you get scored on (for) an empty net goal? What are you going to do?" he said. "Some people put a lot of thought and emphasis into that stat. That's cool. But there are some situations and scenarios it doesn't mean that much."
Also not meaning much, at least to Senators coach Dave Cameron, is any trend that shows team struggle in their first game back from a road trip.
"There's two solutions to that: play all your games on the road or all your games at home," Cameron said mockingly. "I don't control the schedule. I don't discuss (counter-acting first game back troubles) with the team."
Cameron is also skeptical about the supposed "hunny-do" lists players are given by their better half when they return from a trip.
"Wives getting guys to do chores isn't limited to hockey wives," he said. "Does that mean guys have a bad day at work when the wife puts them to work? I don't think so."
It's not an issue for Cameron, anyway.
"No Kelly does all the stuff," he said, referring to his wife. "She's the handy lady in our house."
-- Don Brennan
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