FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Embarrass may seem like a strong word in a two-goal game that included one of the finest empty net goals you’ll ever see but allow me to explain. First of all, the Leafs once again fancy themselves contenders and once again, it takes about five minutes of watching them to realize they are worse than ever. Second of all, Leaf fans jammed our rink on Saturday night, stuffing the pockets of both Michael Andlauer or Sens season ticket holders and then spent that time booing their own team off the ice. Third of all, Sheldon Keefe’s third period tantrum over a tripping penalty on Tim Stutzle showed a man that is both completely unhinged and in way over his head. Fourth of all, Ridly Grieg twisted the knife in the most hilarious way and Morgan Reilly took the bait. And fifth of all, Leaf fans and players and media members have spent the last 10 hours ranting and raving about an invisible code while wilfully ignoring the fact that they fucking suck.
-It is nice to have something resembling the Battle of Ontario again though. The fact is, what Ridly Greig did was specifically designed to get a response and it worked. Calle Johansson did something similar against the Senators in a playoff series way back in the day and it still makes me angry to think about it. Morgan Reilly’s response was equal parts stupid and inevitable and worthy of supplemental discipline. It was exactly the kind of ridiculous moment that this whole rivalry was built on in the first place though and is the kind of thing that helps to build hatred between the two teams on the ice and at the same time, serves as a helpful reminder why you hated Leaf fans in the first place.
-It’s easy to forget when the game ends like that but this was another strong effort from the Ottawa Senators. They were a tad sluggish out of the gate, as you might expect after a lengthy break, but at about the ten minute mark they seemed to shake off the rust and remember what had made them successful before the break. Then from that point on, they sort of took the game over. Discipline was the name of the game on Saturday night as the Senators managed to go the entire sixty minutes without taking a penalty. The officials did seem to have a bit of a “let the boys play” mentality early in the game but staying out of the box was a huge reason the Senators were able to come out on top.
-Leafs suck.
-It’s not that we forgot how good Shane Pinto is necessarily but there were definitely times during his 41-game suspension but we were guilty of underestimating the impact of his absence on the lineup. The Ottawa Senators are just a better hockey team in all three phases when they have Shane Pinto as an option down the middle. He helps take some of the heat off of Norris and Stutzle, he gives them another threat on the power play, he can kill penalties, he can win a big faceoff and he’s just exactly the kind of 200-ft hockey player that can do a little bit of everything. He was excellent on Saturday night and is pretty quickly becoming a favourite of Jacques Martin.
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