Score to settle

Leafs, Sens set to commence Battle of Ontario

For the third straight season, the Battle of Ontario will commence. That is probably the best thing that could have happened to either side, particularly the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coming out of emotionally charged combat versus the Islanders in Round 1, the Leafs might have had an intensity dip entering the second round. Not now, not with facing their rival neighbor. Similarly, the Senators might have otherwise experienced a self-satisfied letdown after finally prevailing in a first round series. Not now, not with facing their tormentors from "TO." No, neither team will ease into this series.

Against the Flyers, the Senators proved more willing than in past postseasons to wade into traffic to make plays. Granted, their will wasn’t tested nearly as severely as it will be against the Leafs, with Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson, Darcy Tucker and Tie Domi lurking and looking to level Sens puck carriers at every opportunity. Martin Havlat, Radek Bonk and Marian Hossa have to continue to play with confidence and avoid becoming perimeter players.

At the other end of the ice, the Senators are much better suited to handle the crease-crashing ways of the Leafs’ forwards with size and grit on every pairing courtesy of Curtis Leschyshyn, Zdeno Chara and "Sheriff" Shane Hnidy. Whereas penetration is necessary for Ottawa’s forwards to be successful, this time around it is hardly a given for the Leafs’ frontline.

Defending the Leafs, though, is as much about eliminating the defensemen supporting the rush as it is anything else. They rely on production from their back line to round out their attack, which is of particular importance now that the Leafs are competing without their best offensive player, Mats Sundin. If the Senators’ forwards can operate diligently on the backcheck and eliminate the late option, they will certainly hamper one element that the Leafs rely on for success.

Another area the Senators need to exploit is the Leafs' penalty killing. Against the Isles, Toronto surrendered roughly half its goals allowed while defending man-down situations. The Senators need to pounce while on the power play in this series. They added a wrinkle to their power play that worked wonders down the stretch, yet showed it sparingly against the Flyers in Round 1. Coach Jacques Martin sometimes positions the giant Chara in front of the opponent’s goaltender. Captain Daniel Alfredsson quarterbacks that configuration. The result is severely impaired sight lines for the netminder and good looks for Sens’ shooters due to Alfredsson’s decision-making from the point.

All of which brings us to the men behind the masks, Curtis Joseph and Patrick Lalime. Joseph found a way to lead his team to victory in Round 1 despite never looking quite comfortable. He gave up a ton of rebounds -- something to look for on the Sens' power play with Chara in front. Lalime, on the other hand, never looked better than in his Round 1 performance. If those descriptions hold true, Ottawa will be ecstatic because the Leafs' sweep last year was due mostly to the brilliance of Joseph. Lalime seemed to feel the pressure of matching CuJo’s performance and fell far short. He now has had playoff success of his own, which might provide a bit of a settling effect.

Actually, in this series, settling might be the operative word: the Senators settling for nothing less than redemption, settling a couple of old scores. For the for the Maple Leafs, it means never being able to settle for second billing in Ontario, never letting Ottawa settle in.

 

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