Sens, Leafs fire shots in The Battle of Ontario
Leafs’ improvement raises the stakes in rivalry with Sens
Finally, a Battle of Ontario with meaning.
As the Ottawa Senators prepare to face off Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 1 of the provincial rivalry, there’s two points on the line that will come in handy when the NHL hands out playoff spots at the final buzzer in April.
After a trip to the Eastern Conference final for the first time in a decade this past spring, the Senators are trying to get back to the playoffs again, while the Leafs, led by superstar centre Auston Matthews, look like they could be on the verge of something special after getting off to a 6-1-0 start.
There have been a lot of lean years when these games didn’t mean much. That’s not the case anymore.
“The Battle of Ontario is special every time you play just because of the rivalry itself,” Senators alternate captain Dion Phaneuf, who has been on both sides of this battle, said Friday after a 35-minute practice. “There’s always the energy, always the rivalry and always the history of the Battle of Ontario.
“Now, the points are so important because the teams are both competitive and both trying to finish as high as they possibly can. It’s great to be part of these games as a player. They’re fun to be a part of the atmosphere. Whether they’re in Ottawa or Toronto, they’re great.
“The energy in the building is always fun. It brings excitement. The fans love it, the community loves it and we enjoy playing it as players.”
Not everybody has had the chance to experience first hand the rivalry between the Senators and the Leafs. Ottawa hasn’t played before a full house at Canadian Tire Centre yet this season, but ticket sales have been brisk for this one. If it isn’t sold out Saturday night, it’ll be pretty close.
Senators winger Alex Burrows, dealt here from the Vancouver Canucks before the trade deadline in February, couldn’t hide his excitement at the chance to play in the kind of atmosphere that surrounds the Battle of Ontario.
Burrows used to get to the Canucks dressing room early on a game day and flip the television to Hockey Night in Canada. He has a pretty good idea already about the rivalry the Senators have built up over the years with the Leafs as well as the Montreal Canadiens.
“These are the games that are easy to wake up for because you’re looking forward to those kinds of matchups,” said Burrows, who scored his 200th career goal in the Senators’ 5-4 overtime loss to New Jersey on Thursday. “There’s going to be a real buzz in the building, there’s going to be a lot of energy in the building.
“I’ve watched a lot of those on TV. We always watched MontrealOttawa, Toronto-Montreal and the Battle of Ontario. Even as a kid, I have some great memories of watching playoff hockey with those two teams and now to be part of it, that’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Senators finished 3-1-0 against the Leafs last season and there’s a pretty good chance both teams will be in the playoffs next spring. They haven’t had a playoff series against each other since before the lockout of 2004-05, but there’s just something special that surrounds every game between these two teams.
It does help that the Leafs have Matthews and are considered a Stanley Cup contender under coach Mike Babcock. The Senators are 0-1-3 on home ice this season and, quite frankly, given the expectations for Toronto, this game could be looked at as a measuring stick for Ottawa.
“It’s a divisional game, they’re four-point swings and we know the importance of the points and Toronto has started very well,” said Phaneuf, a former Leafs captain. “They’re a team that’s been playing very well and it’s a challenge for our team to come in and we’ve got to raise our level of play.”
Phaneuf, who was drafted into the NHL by the Flames, said he’s fortunate that he’s gotten to participate in both the Battle of Alberta between Calgary and the Edmonton Oilers and the Battle of Ontario.
“I”m lucky to be able to say I’ve gotten to participate in both of those rivalries because they’re similar,” Phaneuf said. “Both cities are very competitive, it’s a battle of provinces and there’s a lot of pride involved with the fan base.
“You can feel it in the community when we play Toronto in the Battle of Ontario (because) everyone has got a little more excitement to their day — whether you’re picking up your dry cleaning, whether you’re out for dinner, people are excited about it. It’s a rivalry that’s got history and it’s about us playing for our city and them playing for their city. It’s going to be fun to be a part of.”
Let the Battle of Ontario officially begin. bgarrioch@postmedia.com