One day after a public tongue-lashing from his head coach and a post-game meeting with the general manager, Ottawa Senators captain Jason Spezza was adamant that his teammates are all on the same page as their frustrated management group. Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. "I think hes been disappointed all along. I think hes been disappointed with the group right from the onset of the season. I think it was just him letting us know that its not acceptable how were playing," Spezza said of Murrays meeting with the players. "Theres no ultimatums and theres no threats, but there is a definite understanding that if we dont start playing better, it could be you the one being out the door. It could be any one of us and when you dont win, thats what happens. We put ourselves in this situation and were the only ones who can get ourselves out of it. We understand thats part of the game." MacLeans pointed criticism of the leadership core had many wondering if there was a disconnect between the head coach and the captain. But heading into Thursdays game against the Florida Panthers, Spezza wanted to make it blatantly clear that he had no issues with MacLean. "No - our coaches are good coaches and weve always liked playing for them. Im sure theyre getting frustrated by us and that may lead to some of the frustration and some of their remarks," Spezza explained. "But we believe in what theyre preaching to us and Mac is a good hockey man and he understands. Were probably more frustrated than him as players out there playing. But he goes home and its frustrating for him to figure out why he cant get us to go." Spezza has become accustomed to being a lightning rod for criticism in this market, but this is his first season as captain of the hockey club. He insists he is not uncomfortable being the scapegoat on many nights this season. "Whenever youre not winning, you start looking at the top down. As being the captain, it gets reflected on me first and I have to find a way to get our group more consistent and I have to find a way to get my own game consistent," said Spezza. "When things go wrong you look at the top down. And its always been that way in sports." When asked about his attack on the leadership group from the previous night, MacLean made sure to include himself in the group of people who need to improve. "For me, leadership is everyone. Its myself, its my coaching staff, my training staff and its every player in the room. Jason Spezza, Chris Phillips and Chris Neil are the representatives of the leadership of our team, but theyre not the only guys," MacLean said on Thursday. "Everyone is accountable and everyone has to provide leadership on a daily basis and we havent done that as a group. Theyre representatives of it, so they do most of the talking about it, but its not just them. Yes, they need to be better, but every one of us has to better." Spezza has yet to record a goal this month, a drought that has now extended to 12 games. He has been a consistent offensive producer during his career, but has watched his numbers decline so far this season with 28 points in 35 games. The 30-year-old says he is making some adjustments to his game to try and be more of a two-way player, which could explain the decline in his offensive statistics. "Im trying to change my game. Im trying to play in more straight lines, Im trying to drive the net more and doing some things that take away from my offense a little bit," said Spezza. "We feel that in the long run its the best way to play and its the best way to help the team. The more comfortable I get playing that way, the better our team will be." For his part, MacLean acknowledges his captains adjustments, but still expects more. "For Jason, weve asked him to make changes to his game to a more complete game and a more 200-foot game," said MacLean. "And when you go through changes to your game, the offensive side of it a lot of the time suffers. And I think hes starting to get through that. He created some opportunities last night and some previous games. Were seeing an improvement in it, but wed like to see it speed up a little more than it has. But its a process that takes time and we have to be willing to be patient with it. 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The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts.GLENDALE, Ariz. - It was clear to Mike Ribeiro in his return to Arizona what separates the slumping Coyotes from his new team, the Nashville Predators.Goaltending has to be your best player, night in and night out, Ribeiro said. And we have a chance to have one that can help us every night.Pekka Rinne stopped 31 shots for his NHL-best 19th win, and Ribeiro had an assist as the Predators used five goal scorers to beat slumping Arizona 5-1 Thursday night in the Coyotes eighth straight home loss.James Neal had a goal and an assist, and Mike Fisher, Ryan Ellis, Calle Jarnkrok and Olli Jokinen also scored in the Predators second consecutive win.Mike Smith allowed five goals on 38 shots as Arizona extended its longest home skid since the team moved from Winnipeg in 1996.Antoine Vermettes goal early in the first period was the only blemish for Rinne, who improved to 19-5-1.Smith, meanwhile, dropped to 5-14-2 as the Coyotes nightmare season showed no sign of turning around. Arizona has been outscored 19-5 in its four-game skid. The Coyotes have dropped nine of 11 overall.Frustrated, disappointed, Arizona coach Dave Tippett said when asked about his teams mindset. I think theres a lot of guys in there that care. They want to do better and were not finding the results we want.So the frustration continues to build. But until we turn that frustration into mental resolve and get the job done, more frustration will pile up.Fans directed their frustration at Ribeiro — even if he claimed there werent enough of them to hear it.Ribeiros team-best 17th assist came when Ellis redirected Neals shot into an open net with 1:30 left in the first period to make it 3-1.Once again, not a lot of fans in the building, Ribeiro said. They didnt have a chance to boo me. Or they might have, but I didnt hear them.Ribeiro was booed every time he touched the puck early. The Coyotes bouught out the final three years of his contract last summer, with general manager Don Maloney citing behavioural issues along with Ribeiros dismal 47-point season as the reason.ddddddddddddRibeiro is more than halfway to that total with 25 points for Nashville.They said it was a mistake to get me, Ribeiro said. I think the mistake was to let me go.The Coyotes had several scoring chances thwarted by Rinne in the second period. After a sloppy start to the third, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette called his timeout.His team quickly responded.Jarnkrok knocked in a rebound at 2:43, then Jokinen scored his second goal of the season when the puck went off his skate and through Smith less than 3 minutes later to make it 5-1.The Coyotes got wing David Moss back after a 22-game absence due to injury, and he started on a line with Martin Erat and Martin Hanzal. And with Shea Weber serving a holding penalty, Arizona got an early goal. Vermettes one-timer from the slot on a feed from Mikkel Boedker made it 1-0 at 4:11.It was the first power-play goal allowed by Nashville in five games. But the Arizona lead didnt last long.With Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the box for holding and Michael Stone without his broken stick, Fisher got his first of the season on a redirect at 6:57.The Predators controlled the game from there.Its not easy for them right now, Ribeiro said of the Coyotes. I wish (Tippett) the best. I hope he stays behind the bench.Its hard to have an organization if its not steady on top — completely on top from ownership to GM.NOTES: Nashvilles David Poile earned his 1,170th win as a GM, tying former Boston boss Harry Sinden for second in NHL history. ... Predators C Derek Roy (upper body) returned after a five-game absence. ... Predators C Paul Gaustad (upper body) didnt dress. ... The crowd of 10,194 was the smallest of the season for Arizona. ' ' 'ight 30-point games. He was 4 of 15 from the field and didnt play in the fourth quarter. "Guys were just fighting and made it tough on him," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said of Jefferson, whom he coached as an assistant with the Utah Jazz. "Hell shake his head and say Why do you keep trapping me all the time? Thats the kind of player he is, where we have to do that to him all the time." Markieff Morris threw down a dunk with 3.4 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Suns a 90-63 lead. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Bobcats cut the Suns lead to 99-86 with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter but couldnt sustain the run.dddddddddddd. Reserve Anthony Tolliver led Charlotte with 14 points and Jannero Pargo added 12 points and six assists. Ish Smiths floater with 7:05 left in the first half gave the Suns a 47-35 lead, and his driving right-hand layup made it 50-36 with 5:59 left. Marcus Morris hit a 3 off a feed from Dragic to make it 55-41, and Dragic scored the final four points of the half as the Suns closed it out on a 9-0 run. Dragic hit 10 of 14 shots in 27 minutes of action and has 20 or more points in four straight games. "Im more relaxed," Dragic said. "I know how the opponent is going to guard me. . It feels like Im playing basketball with my friends back home, no pressure and I just go there and do my job, I get great support from my teammates and its just fun." The Bobcats failed to score for the final five-plus minutes of the first half. The Suns defence on Jefferson was a major factor as they double-teamed the big man at times or sent a player over to stab at the ball as soon as he caught it. "We didnt have the energy that we needed, we werent making shots, no excuses," Jefferson said. The Bobcats had won their last two games, the first stops of a four-game western road swing. NOTES: The Bobcats were without guard Kemba Walker, whose 18.7 points and five assists per game were missed. Walker has been out with a sprained left ankle for two weeks and is expected to return soon. ... Saturday was Fan Appreciation Night at the US Airways Center. About half the crowd received "Go Suns" foam fingers. ... Injured Suns guard Eric Bledsoe has been out since Jan. 2, but he is the featured player on bobblehead dolls that will be given to fans at the next Suns home game, Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls. ... The balls used for Saturdays game were among the first ones to bear the signature of new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. ... The two teams wore warm-up shirts bearing the Twitter hashtag ".NBABHM" in honour of Black History Month. ' ' '