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“It’s hard right now,” said winger Mark Stone Saturday night. “Nobody likes losing. Nobody wants to lose. We’re not trying to lose. We’re trying to find a way to get ourselves out of it. We’re trying to stick to what’s made us successful in the past.

“We were playing some pretty good hockey at the start of the season and we were right where we wanted to be. The last month hasn’t been what we wanted and we might have to make a few changes to get ourselves back on track.”

Does he anticipate or brace for changes with the Senators in their current situation?

“I think the changes have to come with the guys in the locker room. We have to change either the way we’re preparing or we have to change the way we’re playing and commit to a strategy,” Stone said. “Right now, it just looks like we’re playing shinny. The effort is there, but the execution isn’t there.”

Fingers are being pointed in every direction including coach Guy Boucher.

Yes, he got plenty of credit last season when the Senators made a trip to the third round of the playoffs, but now that the season has turned so sour, he’s getting his share of blame and the pressure is building.

“When you’re having a tough stretch, we question ourselves every day,” Boucher said. “We sit down and we look at the things that we do well and the things that we don’t do well, who fits with who and who doesn’t, and we make plans for the next game and the next practice.

“That hasn’t changed and it doesn’t change.”

Later, Boucher was asked if maybe he had to change his approach to help get the Senators back on track?