"Sergei Gonchar emerged from the Ottawa Senators dressing room almost an hour after Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, the strain of a dreadful start to his career with the Senators written all over his face.

The Senators' prized summer free agent signing was expected to put a spark into the Senators power play and all-around offensive game. Instead, he ranks 26th among NHL defencemen in scoring, with four goals and 12 assists in 35 games.

More glaring, however, are his defensive mistakes, including an inexcusable gaffe early in the second period Sunday that helped the Capitals change the game's momentum and overcome an early 2-0 deficit.

Gonchar now owns a plus-minus rating of minus 19, which ranks him 753rd among 756 NHL players. At his current rate, he will end the season with a staggering minus 44.

"It's not easy, coming in to a new team," he said, his eyes a touch red. "You have high expectations and you hope with a new addition, the team is going to be better. Obviously, we're not playing as well as we expect to, so yeah, I'm probably putting pressure on myself that I normally wouldn't.

"I'm squeezing my stick probably a little harder than I should. It's one of those things you have to deal with, but there's no excuse for it. I have to be better."

Gonchar, 36, says he has never experienced a slump of this duration during his 16-year NHL career. The plays that once seemed so simple and led to success when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins aren't working any longer."