"No excuses for them": NHL analyst criticizes Senators' primary Power Play unit for lacking 'killer instinct'

The Ottawa Senators have struggled at times this year, and they've not been as strong as they were expected to be. Still in third place at 29-22-4, they're well within the playoff race, but they could be in a better spot if not for one thing that struggles according to one hockey analyst.

Their power play has been lackluster this year in the eyes of CTV Ottawa's Jack Richardson. They're still ranked 11th in the league in power-play success rate, but Richardson believes it's a unit that overall lacks teeth. He said as much on "Sens Central" on Friday.

He said that the power play used to be a timely weapon that helped them win, but that's changed:

"I can look at it and say, yeah, it's tough that that Pinto and Norris were gone specifically, because, yes, that's obviously going to impact them. Penalty kill-wise, even strength, just rolling the lines.

"But there's no excuse for that top Power Play unit to me with those guys out, because it doesn't impact it... You just need a moment where you can take over the game and be killer, like be have that killer instinct on the power play. And it's not that they didn't even score. They just lost momentum on it."

If Ottawa does not make the playoffs, Richardson believes that is one area they will have to shore up if they're to make a run. Ottawa is fresh off a 5-1 thumping by the Tampa Bay Lightning, which could have implications in the run-in for the postseason.

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Senators head coach addresses 5-1 loss

Despite losing 5-1, head coach Travis Green didn't feel like the game was actually that disappointing. It was Ottawa's second straight loss to the Lightning, a crucial run of losses for the playoff race.

The Senators lost to the Lightning (Imagn)

The Senators coach told reporters (via Yahoo! Sports):

"No. Well, the score was 5-1, but we played a pretty good game. I hate saying that when you lose 5-1, but it's a 2-1 game with 5 minutes left and we played a lot better tonight than we did the first game."

The Senators nearly lost Brady Tkachuk amid a rash of injuries to key players, but he didn't miss a shift after hitting the boards.