Before this season, the last postseason clash between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators came in 2004, when the Leafs won a first-round series in seven games. So, naturally, there’s a lot of pent-up emotions in this season’s first-round series.
Game 1 Sunday in the “Battle of Ontario” did not disappoint.
The Maple Leafs won a penalty-fest in Toronto 6-2, leading Senators captain Brady Tkachuk to note in a post-game interview that Ottawa must “be more disciplined.”
Tkachuk was referring mostly to penalties. In the final 44 seconds of the third period alone, the teams were assessed 12 penalties — six to Ottawa and six to Toronto. One final roughing penalty was given to Ottawa at the end of the game.
Are these penalties an issue of discipline or is it the passion of playoff hockey?
Toronto got goals in the first period from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mitch Marner. Drake Batherson scored for Ottawa toward the end of the period.
It was Ottawa’s Tim Stützle who got the penalty party started in the second period against Toronto’s Chris Tanev with a boarding call. The Maple Leafs’ John Tavares scored about nine seconds into the power play. Less than two minutes later, Ridly Greig got called for a crosscheck to Tavares.
Originally, this was called as a major penalty. Greig’s stick was in Tavares’ neck as he followed through on the hit. After review, the referees reassessed the penalty as a two-minute minor.
