OTTAWA – Fall has since given way to winter, but the Ottawa Senators haven’t forgotten Hurricane Matthews.
That would be Auston Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs star rookie, who blew the doors off here on opening night with a four-goal debut at Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators still managed to pull out a 5-4 overtime victory back on Oct. 12, but ahead of Saturday’s rematch, they were holding it up as warning of how quickly things can get out of hand against Toronto.
“We know they have a very heavy forecheck,” said Senators head coach Guy Boucher. “It’s basically a five-man forecheck so that they can catch you and you spend more time in your zone than you’d like to. I think we won’t be surprised by how good Matthews is like we were the first game, although if there should have been people not surprised it should have been me that coached against him (in Switzerland) last year and (assistants Marc) Crawford and (Rob) Cookson that coached him (in Zurich).
“We had talked about how good he was, but I think it was surprising to see that it was the first game and four goals. We don’t want to be surprised this time, obviously.”
When the Senators gathered for a meeting before Friday’s practice, they discussed the need to be mindful of Matthews and fellow Maple Leafs rookie Mitch Marner.
Both are gifted offensive players and they’re deployed on separate lines by head coach Mike Babcock at even strength. The Senators would prefer to play tight-checking, low-event hockey while the Leafs aggressively chase the game in the offensive zone.
It’s a distinct clash of philosophies.
“The last time we played those guys, Matthews had four goals and Marner was skating all around the ice,” said Ottawa centre Derick Brassard. “That’s obviously something that we addressed. We’re going to try to pay attention to those guys.”
Adding a little extra spice to the matchup is the fact the teams are so tightly bunched in the Atlantic Division standings. It’s been a long time since a rivalry once known as the “Battle of Ontario” actually meant something.
Ottawa (22-14-4) enters the game two points ahead of Toronto (19-13-8) for third place in the division. The teams will meet again next Saturday, and then for a final time in February, both at the Air Canada Centre.
“That’s fun,” said Senators captain Erik Karlsson. “I wasn’t here for that time, when it used to be like that when they always played against each other in the playoffs and they were always battling. You know, it’s good. Good for them.
“They’ve had a tough run for a number of years and they’re a good organization and it’s always fun to see when you do rebuilds and it’s working.”
Added Boucher: “I’ve been lucky enough when I was young to live the Nordiques-Canadiens rivalry, whether I was in school or at the rink or everywhere, it was pretty intense. And I think this rivalry has that type of look where it becomes emotional.”
The Senators have come through a stretch where they’ve faced Pittsburgh, Edmonton and Washington in their last three games – lining up across from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin in the process.
After seeing Matthews put up 21 goals and 36 points in his first 40 NHL games, they were placing him in the same category.
They should at least have a little bit of insider knowledge with Crawford and Cookson having coached the 19-year-old last season, although Boucher noted that great players always find a few good looks no matter how well you defend them.
“I always joke about Matthews being Crawford’s son, so I call him his son,” said Boucher. “He’s been raving about how good he is and how much of a great person he is off-ice and how much he wants to learn and how serious he is about being a good two-way guy and everything.”
With a lot riding on Saturday’s game, they’ll be extremely mindful of him. They certainly don’t want Matthews to break the game open like he did on opening night.
“He’s a really good young player,” said Brassard. “A lot of guys on our team, I think it was their first look at him and the way he plays the game (last time). Now from seeing him having success this year and having success against us the first game, I think our guys are pretty aware what kind of player he is.
“He’s going to have maybe a little bit more attention, we’re going to try to play him a little bit tighter.”
