  The Senators lost a lopsided 5-1 game to provincial rival Toronto on Saturday. (Dave Abel/QMI Agency)
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ARLINGTON, Va. — With his team in a season-opening funk, Senators coach Cory Clouston delivered a simple message on Sunday: Start playing as a team.
The Senators haven’t gone pointless in two games to start the season since 1995-96. If they lose in regulation against Washington on Monday, it will be the first time in team history they’ve lost three straight to open the season without at least getting a point.
“They’re trying to do it themselves,” said Clouston following a skate at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “The effort is there, it’s just completely fragmented, for whatever reason I don’t know.
“It’s almost the way we were playing (18 months ago), it wasn’t cohesive, it wasn’t as a team. We’re going to live and die as a team. Right now, we’re getting efforts, but it’s individual efforts.”
Coming off an embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, it wasn’t difficult for Clouston to sell his message. Sure, it’s early, but there’s urgency.
The Senators weren’t supposed to have any problem scoring goals, but they’ve found the net just twice in two games. The club has gone 0-for-10 on the power play, despite the off-season addition of offensive defenceman Sergei Gonchar.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen is there’s nobody out there that appears to be willing to help each other,” said GM Bryan Murray. “Our defence is under pressure and our forwards are too far ahead of the play.
“Our team is good enough, it’s just a matter of getting on the same page. We’re trying to do too much individual. We get behind early and it’s almost like home-run plays every time. Stick to the plan.”
The Senators are the only team in their division without a victory.
Murray said there were meetings with a “couple of players” before Sunday’s practice.
“A tough start is a tough start and it’s tough to catch up,” said Murray. “We have been a streaky team. We’re not asking anybody to do anything phenomenal. Play together, show respect for each other ... because if you get behind the eight-ball by far, the league is pretty even and to have long runs is difficult.”
Defenceman Chris Campoli said the Senators have to get back into synch.
“I just think we’ve been sloppy. Since I’ve been here, we’ve relied on our structure. It just hasn’t been there for some reason,” said Campoli. “The one good thing about playing all the time is you get an opportunity to go redeem yourself.
“The guys take our start personally. Our effort wasn’t good enough in Toronto. The competitiveness wasn’t. We’re expecting to be better. We need to be better. We all know it.”
