Drawing the battle lines

The Battle of Ontario was a heck of a lot more fun when both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators were good.

It was a lot better when the feeling was the road to the Stanley Cup final, or at the very least, the Eastern Conference final, was through one of these cities. It hasn't been that way for a long time.

As it stands now, a Toronto-Ottawa matchup is little more than just another contest in an 82-game schedule.

"I know for the fans it's the Battle of Ontario, but I think both teams go into it not thinking in those terms," said Toronto coach Ron Wilson. "It's a divisional game, which is always big. They're within shouting distance of us in the standings so we have to respect how they play. The game we beat them here, they had a great third period. In Ottawa I thought we played much better than we did in the home game and yet they got some great goaltending and hung on for a win. The points right now are huge for us so it really doesn't matter who we are playing."

With the Senators in the early stages of a rebuilding program and the Maple Leafs a few years advanced in their own reconstruction, there's no guarantee either of these clubs will make it to the playoffs. Toronto certainly has enjoyed a very good start to the year while the Senators have been decent at times and not so fine at others. In other words, they have been streaky.

The Senators won just one of their first five games, but also won six in a row before dropping their last four games. Toronto and Ottawa meet six times and have split the first two games; the Maple Leafs claiming a 6-5 victory at home Oct. 8 and the Senators rebounding to win 3-2 Oct. 30.

The Senators today are a young, developing team, although veteran Jason Spezza is off to a solid start to his year with six goals and 17 points through 17 games. Milan Michalek has 10 goals in 17 games while young Erik Karlsson is tied for third in NHL defenceman scoring with one goal and 15 points.

While the Senators may not be the explosive team they were a few years ago when captain Daniel Alfredsson was in his prime and Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley formed one of the league's most lethal duos, one thing has not changed: They are still tough. Zenon Konopka leads the NHL with 61 penalty minutes while veteran enforcer Chris Neil is second with 52. Neil is injured, but Konopka and Zack Smith, who has 26 PIM, are healthy - not to mention ready, willing and able. Konopka, in fact, is tied for the league lead in fights with six.

Toronto's fight leader, Mike Brown, who has four scraps this season, said he is always pumped and prepared when the Senators are his team's opponent.

"I'm not sure about the rivalry any more," Brown said. "I think maybe for the fans it's a bigger deal than it is for us. We respect them as a team and we know they are going to be tough to play against. I know they have some tough guys and I'm always ready to do whatever I need to do to help my team. I mean, I don't go looking for anything and you try not to get too excited and go over the edge because you don't want to take penalties and put your team in a bad position. If I have to fight, I'm ready for it."

Jay Rosehill, who has dressed for just five games this season, said he'll be ready for the Senators if he's inserted into the lineup.

"I don't know what it was like before, but since I've been here they are somebody we want to beat, for sure; especially with the type of team they have," said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Rosehill. "They're a rough team and we've had our moments of heated battles with them. Those things stay with you so we get excited every time we play them.

"There have been some instances of guys taking liberties here and there with both teams. There's that fire between the two teams and that makes it fun to play against them. You look at their team and they have some rougher, tougher guys."

One interesting aspect of this year's series between the Leafs and Senators is the fact Ottawa plays on the night before it faces Toronto in every instance. The Leafs played Pittsburgh the night before they lost their second meeting of the year to Ottawa, but otherwise, they have every night before a game against the Senators off.

Rosehill said that is no big deal.

"For guys who have played in the minors, when you often play games on three straight days or play three games in four nights, it's no big deal," he said. "Maybe it is for a guy who has played his whole career in the NHL, but for the rest of us, you can't use that as an excuse."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.