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Senators Finally Score at 5v5 to win the Battle of Ontario 6-2

The Captain had 2 goals in an electrifying win

There’s nothing like beating the Leafs.

It doesn’t matter where the Sens are in the standings or what the win means for either team. Wins like this can keep us all going for weeks, if not months. The Sens don’t always show up for these rivalry games, so this win felt especially sweet. I love it when the players love to hate the Leafs as much as I do.

Third Period

The game started off on a funny note, with Matt Murray leaving during warmups before he could face his former team. This is the second time he’s done that, by the way.

It took less than a minute for Brady Tkachuk to start causing problems around his own net. He ended up going to the box along with Micheal Bunting for roughing. The teams played 4-on-4 as the two players served their penalties.

Apparently the Sens’ problems at even strength only apply when there are five players on the ice for each team, because they were excellent during Brady’s penalty. Chabot buried a beautiful pass by Tim Stützle - with Erik Brännström getting just his fourth point of the season on the play too! 1-0 Ottawa.

Unfortunately, the lead didn’t hold for long, as Toronto soon got one back. 1-1.

Before long, the Leafs had doubled up the Sens in shots, and the game was starting to look all too familiar. The Sens did get a chance to get back into it, though, when Sanderson got high-sticked in the ear, resulting in a double minor for Toronto.

The four minute powerplay was surprisingly unsuccessful, and cut short by a too many men call against Ottawa. The Sens held their own against the Leafs for the remainder of the first frame.

Second Period

The puck had barely dropped when Ottawa took the lead right back, as Brady Tkachuk tipped in a Hamonic point shot at the end of a very good first shirt of the second period. 2-1 Ottawa.

Because the Sens hate us and also hate being good at hockey, that lead didn’t last any longer than the first one had. Zaitsev took a penalty, and the Sens couldn’t handle the Leafs’ powerplay, even without Matthews in the lineup. 2-2.

The Sens soon went back to the powerplay, and there was a weird moment where Forsberg lost his mask but play didn’t stop, presumably because the puck was in the offensive zone. Just as I was starting to worry that the powerplay was cooling down, the Leafs scored on themselves. Joke franchise. 3-2 Ottawa.

Brassard got credit for the goal, and the one sad thing about it is that Ridly Greig might have gotten to the puck if Liljegren hadn’t put it in his own net. Toronto’s commitment to preventing Greig from scoring his first NHL goal is admirable.

Great news: the Sens didn’t immediately get scored on this time! They didn’t score on their next powerplay, but stayed in the game and eventually managed an elusive 5 on 5 goal toward the end of the frame. 4-2 Ottawa.

Third Period

The Sens were clearly the better team to start the third, immediately flattening any attempt at a comeback. Brady Tkachuk and the rest of the top line did great work in the offensive zone, and Tkachuk extended the Sens’ lead with a shot so fast it almost looked like it hadn’t gone in at first. 5-2 Ottawa.

Ottawa actually played so well in the third that they even took the lead in shots, in part thanks to another unsuccessful powerplay. They continued to generate scoring chances, and eventually Giroux pulled off an absolutely filthy move to make the score 6-2 Ottawa.

My god, Claude. Welcome to the Battle of Ontario.

This is exactly the kind of hater energy I always expected from him. It’s so wonderful to see him show up big for this rivalry after so many years of service to the Battle of Pennsylvania. He really is from Ottawa, home of the Ottawa Senators.

Notable Performances

  • I promise it was true this time and other people agree: Chabot was so good tonight. He easily could have had more than one goal, and made great plays on almost every shift. Some of those great plays were even backchecks. Just a great game for him all around.
  • Brady Tkachuk was also a monster on the ice. He always is, of course, but he was especially good tonight. Kind of unfortunate that he couldn’t manage the hat trick.
  • Jake Sanderson also deserves a shoutout yet another solid game in all three zones of the ice./

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