Green says struggling Senators need to dial up another level of desperation

OTTAWA – With his team mired in a four-game losing streak, Travis Green was disappointed to not see more urgency or desperation.

The Ottawa Senators coach was remarkably up front about his team’s shortcomings following a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.

Green is usually not one to offer more than he’s asked, but he was unusually candid — measured and direct, not inflammatory — offering deeper insight after the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions beat his crew.

“There’s another level of desperation that we can play with,” he said. “It’s not just defensively, it’s offensively. It’s taking a hit to make a play, beating a check to the net. We had a lot of pucks that we missed in front of the net.

“We’ve got to bear down in those areas. But I just think there’s another level for us, and when you’re not winning, and I talked about this this morning, it’s hard.”

Green said when a team is winning things seem to come more easily, but when it’s struggling that’s where the real challenge takes place.

“That’s when you’ve got to really dig in and play really hard,” the bench boss said. “And I just thought it was sporadic a little.”

With the Senators past the halfway mark and sitting second last in the Eastern Conference they are in desperate need of a spark.

Players understand the precarious situation they’re in and admitted it’s on them to rectify things and it’s a matter of figuring out how to take things to the next level.

“I’m not sure, but I know that a lot of guys care in this locker room and we’re gonna get out of this,” said veteran Claude Giroux. “We’ve just got to keep communicating, keep working. We know we can be a dangerous team. We just need to dial it up a little bit in here.”

Early Saturday the Senators addressed recent speculation surrounding Linus Ullmark’s personal leave of absence, but when asked after the game if there are too many distractions, Giroux denied it was an issue.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “It shouldn’t be any distraction. We’re here to win some hockey games so that should be our focus.”

During Ullmark’s absence all the pressure has fallen on 23-year-old Leevi Merilainen and while he says he’s fine with it the Senators know it’s somewhat unfair.

“He’s a young guy trying to find his way,” said Green. “I think one thing about him is he always seems calm off the ice. I don’t know if he’s like a duck, where his legs are going 100 miles an hour, but he seems in control, and he wants the opportunity. You know he’s going to give us everything he has all the time, that’s for sure.”

Merilainen understands what’s expected of him and he’s comfortable with the added responsibility.

“I like it that way rather than sitting on the bench, for sure,” he said. “But it was not easy going from not playing much at all to playing all of them — but it’s more fun this way.”

Despite his team’s recent struggles, Green continues to have confidence the players can turn things around even if recent results would give little reason for optimism.

“I just know the way they are, I know their character,” he said. “I’ve watched them. I’ve coached them a year-end-a-half, so I do have a lot of belief in them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2026.