Leafs and Senators fans are fast realizing that they'll get to witness some of the best games the NHL will have to offer in 2005-2006, as this year's second edition of the Battle of Ontario was played out last night.
Featuring 10 regulation time goals, yet another shootout, several lead changes, and all around great hockey, this game must have been exactly what Gary Bettman and GMs envisioned in the offseason when tinkering with new rules and talking about more strongly enforcing old rules.
The game provided evidence for some key observations that should delight both Leafs and Senators fans.
1) Eric Lindros is back, with a vengeance. The Big E is skating, shooting, passing, hitting and defending well. Lindros does not appear to be tentative in any situation. He dished out a big hit on Ottawa's Brian Pothier, and recieved an even bigger hit from Zdeno Chara. In both instances, Lindros looked completely unaffected by the physical contact. Lindros has been the single most dominant player for the Leafs in each of their three games so far this season.
2) Dominic Hasek is back too. Once again, the Dominator can be flopping around on the ice like a halibut out of water. Covering the bottom half of the net, and cartwheeling to cover the top half, Hasek is playing a game we haven't seen since his days in Buffalo. Now, if he could only work on stopping the long shots on blocker side.
3) Jason Spezza may be the most creative, aware and intelligent player in the NHL today. In a way that reminds us of a younger Mario Lemieux, Spezza seems to get the job done without ever looking like he is working too hard. He appears to be skating slowly, while blowing past opponents. When he loses the puck, some sort of magnetized force pulls it back onto his stick. Most effective of all, Spezza finds open teammates where there appeared to be none, and makes passes through seams that didn't appear to be open. His faked shot and subsequent pass to Alfredsson to the left of Belfour in the third period was absolute gold and should be playing on the highlight reels for the next month.
4) Toronto's grinders shouldn't be underestimated. Tie Domi's third-effort goal. Clarke Wilm's poke check, fake shot and goal from the top of the circle. Antropov's one-timer while falling. Tucker's spinning slapper. These guys are giving 100%, and it's paying off. They may not be the most skilled players, but they're willing a way to win. (I never thought I'd write such a thing about Antropov.)
5) A two goal lead in the third period just ain't what it used to be.
6) The shoot-out, love it or hate it, is exciting, and may be a make-or-break issue for some teams at the end of the regular season if they are sitting on the bubble to make the playoffs. If Toronto had one the two shoot-outs against Ottawa, the teams would be tied in the standings with four points each. As it stands, the Senators have six points, and the Leafs only two.
With six regular season match-ups remaining for these two teams (and every one of them televised) no matter what side of the Battle of Ontario they live on, Senators and Leafs fans should be marking their calendars so they don't miss some of the best hockey the NHL has offered up in years.
'I've said it before on record - I don't like it. No other sport does it except for soccer. I don't know why we do it,'' Quinn said following a 6-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre.
Posted by: Budfan | October 11, 2005 at 10:20 AM