Perhaps more than any season in recent memory, it feels like this year has a chance to be a revival of the Battle of Ontario.
Once talked about as one of the best rivalries in hockey, Sens/Leafs just hasn’t had the same intensity in the last decade. With the Leafs perpetually terrible and the Senators forever spinning on the wheel of mediocrity, there haven’t been many, if any, meaningful games played between these two teams in years.
But this season, it feels like that all could change.
Both the Senators and Leafs are in the mix for the same couple playoff spots as the season hits the half-way point. And actually, if you squint just a little bit, it’s possible to see a scenario where the two teams could clash in the first round of the playoffs.
At this point, most Sens fans would place the Canadiens at the top of the teams list of rivals these days. A recent playoff history will do that.
But you can feel that hatred for the Leafs slowly starting to return. They obviously don’t have the same level of obnoxiousness on the ice that they did back in the rivalries’ heyday but make no mistake, that centre of the universe mentality that made their team, their fans and their media coverage so unbearable is stronger than ever.
All you had to do was spend 5 minutes on TSN yesterday to see what I mean. There were no fewer than eight articles asking some variation of the question- is Auston Matthews the best player in the NHL? He’s not by the way. The obsessive fan-boy coverage of Auston Matthews from otherwise respectable journalists, the drooling over every stupid thing Mike Babcock says, the whole “The Leafs can do no wrong” garbage that’s filled the hockey world and actually seeped into our own fan base at times.
Ohhhh yea, I can still hate these guys.
So what a perfect time for a Saturday night showdown. A four point game with actual playoff implications. A building packed with fans that were there when this rivalry was at its peak and maybe some experiencing it for the first time. Should be a fun night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
No changes expected to the Ottawa line up for this one. They are expected to go with the same group and the same combinations that looked so good the other night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Smith-Brassard-Stone
Dzingel-Turris-Ryan
Hoffman-Pageau-Pyatt
Kelly-Lazar-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Mike Condon gets another start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
