Late-game incident could see Toronto defenceman suspended
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The last shot fired in this year’s Battle of Ontario will likely have severe consequences for Morgan Rielly.
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The veteran Maple Leafs defenceman was enraged by Ridly Greig’s showboat slap shot into an empty net to seal a 5-3 win at the Canadian Tire Centre, which gave the last-place Senators the season series by a 3-1 count.
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Now it’s calculating how many games Rielly could receive from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for the cross check to the head as Greig celebrated. The latter was down on the ice a few moments getting checked by a team therapist while players scuffled and Rielly was assessed a game misconduct.
It’s unclear how much Rielly’s clean record in nearly 800 games will be taken into consideration versus instigating such a dangerous play, as well as Greig knowing how such a move would go over with the Leafs instead of simply tapping in the insurance disc on his unopposed breakaway.
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“I thought it was appropriate, our players have the right to react,” coach Sheldon Keefe said of Rielly’s uncharacteristic loss of composure, though he conceded to the media in Ottawa that the league’s DOPS would now be involved.
Veteran goalie Martin Jones called Greig’s move “a stupid thing to do,” while Sens coach Jacques Martin put Rielly at fault.
“(Greig) put the puck in the net,” Martin said. “Whether he shoots it or pushes it in, (what Rielly did) shouldn’t happen. That’s not a hockey play, that’s just frustration or something.”
A raucous Saturday night crowd with many travelling fans and a heavy battle between Greig and the Leafs at their net just prior to the Rielly incident might also have factored in. And while it’s the kind of gumption many have accused the Leafs of lacking, losing their best defenceman in the heat of a playoff race is a bad trade-off.
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While Keefe forewarned that his Leafs always see the best side of the Sens, no matter how low their standing, his club’s sloppy effort early in the match was the difference.
Ottawa, playing much better since Martin was named interim coach and settling its front-office situation, outscored Toronto 18-12 in its first series win in five years. The Senators are on a run of 5-1-1, though still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division
With Mark Giordano out and Conor Timmins coming down with an untimely illness, the Leafs’ lack of depth on defence was exposed. And while they didn’t get a single power-play chance (to Ottawa’s two), Toronto did finish with its best players on for an elongated 6-on-5 that just missed on a couple of chances to tie it.
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In their first game in 10 days since the all-star game and their bye week, the Senators fell behind at the 3:45 mark of the first period. Auston Matthews ended an eight-game goal slump against Ottawa, a team he’d owned in his first four years in the league, one-timing a Mitch Marner pass after the latter circled the net to draw opposition attention. It was Matthews’ league-high 42nd goal.
Netminder Joonas Korpisalo was under pressure the rest of the period, but a Max Domi goal was successfully challenged when home video spotted Noah Gregor offside. The Finn then denied John Tavares’ fourth in as many games twice on the doorstep.
That Sens’ momentum was sustained when Marner was knocked off the puck in the neutral zone and Claude Giroux converted the ensuing 3-on-1 off a rebound.
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Ottawa opened the second period, exploiting William Lagesson’s rust, catching he and partner Simon Benoit flat-footed and sending Vladimir Taresenko to a breakaway goal.
The teams then traded nifty deflections, Matthew Knies with his first goal since Dec. 27, with Marner and Matthews assisting. Marner is now within 200 assists of tying Borje Salming’s franchise record of 620.
But the Sens upped their forecheck again, setting up Shane Pinto’s tip in front of Jones. Josh Norris then knocked down a clearing pass at centre and bulled to the net for a two-goal lead entering the third period.
That was cut to one when Rielly set up Domi in the slot from behind the net. That was just Domi’s second goal since Christmas, while Tyler Bertuzzi’s goal-less skid is now at 17 games, with just one in his past 31.
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Keefe was juggling his defence in the two days prior to the game as it became apparent that 40-year-old Giordano was too banged-up to play with a lower body injury. It should’ve been an opening for Timmins, but he was too sick to travel. That opened the door for Lagesson, who’d not played since Dec. 29.
Maxime Lajoie was called up from the Marlies as a precaution, moving centre David Kampf to injured reserve after missing his third straight game with an undetermined injury.
After he picked up the Leafs when Ilya Samsonov stumbled badly in late December, Jones had been on the losing end a few times as Samsonov regained form.
“Jones has played really well for us and we need to keep him involved,” Keefe said before the game of resting Samsonov. “He got us a through a tough period of time and needs to remain part of things here.”
The Leafs are off until Tuesday when the St. Louis Blues visit.
X: @sunhornby
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2024-02-11 04:07:30Z
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