The Battle of Ontario may not be what it was 20 years ago, but try telling that to the Ottawa Senators.
Whether they are going good or bad, whether they’re rebuilding or “the rebuild is over,” to quote a former general manager, the Sens give the Maple Leafs trouble.
On Wednesday, in the first game back from Christmas break, the Leafs seemed to forget how pesky the Sens can be. Toronto took an early 2-0 lead, thought this game was going to be a walk in High Park, and – boom! Ottawa battled back with four unanswered goals to stun the Leafs 4-2.
In the Ottawa net, Joonas Korpisalo was other-worldly. After yielding two goals on the first six shots, Korpisalo stopped the next 30 he faced, without a blemish. He also had some emergency help from defencemen Artem Zub and Travis Hamonic who cleared away pucks from the crease that could have given the Leafs a three or four-goal lead.
Senators winger Drake Batherson was the offensive hero with two goals, including the game winner from an impossible angle, with the shot climbing up and down the back of Leafs goalie Martin Jones.
Senators fans have seen Batherson take these sharp-angle shots before, often with success.
“I mess around with that a little bit, I’ve got it a few times before,” Batherson said. “The angle that came in, the goalie was off position so I figured I’d try and bank it. Lucky goal but I’ll take it.”
Lucky with the timing, perhaps. But the shot was pure skill.
Hockey players are creatures of habit, so the day began in an unusual way, with an early morning flight on a game day – a small price to pay for getting three full days off at Christmas.
The Senators had a morning skate in Toronto, and didn’t have their legs in the first period.
But they survived, despite getting outshot 12-6, and had a surprise for the Leafs in the second period, usually a tough period for Ottawa.
“A bit of a slow start for me and the whole team but in the second we just picked it up,” Korpisalo said. “The second period was our best and the last period we played smart hockey.”
The Senators put some early pressure on the Leafs defence in period two, and when Toronto picked up a power play on a high-sticking call against Josh Norris, the Leafs had yet another chance to build on their two-goal lead.
Instead, the moment that turned the game around: A sloppy play inside Ottawa’s zone led to a two-on-one the other way. Veteran Claude Giroux sauced a backhand pass to Parker Kelly and he hammered home the short-handed goal that would change everything.
Crazily, the Sens nearly scored a second goal on the same kill. Giroux got a breakaway but the puck rolled on him just as he tried to tuck a five-hole shot through Jones.
Back at full strength, Batherson then picked up his first goal of the night, a rebound off a Tim Stützle shot, and the game was tied. Batherson now has seven goals, nine assists for 16 points in 13 December games.
With the victory, the Senators put together their first two-game win streak for interim head coach Jacques Martin, who took over behind the bench Dec. 19 in Arizona. He’s 2-2-0 overall. Ottawa ended its five-game losing streak on the road.
While the Senators have blown a lot of leads this season, and as recently as last week, here was a rare comeback win. And they hung onto a one-goal lead in the third.
Captain Brady Tkachuk scored the empty net goal at 17:33. It was his 300th career point.
The new head coach has been working on some small details in the Senators game. And the big picture suddenly looks a bit brighter. Martin feels the team is more confident and composed than when he first stepped in as coach.
“What I like is our resiliency, how we battled back, how we stuck with it, how we adjusted,” Martin said. “It was a big difference in the second period, we started to get some pucks behind their ‘D,’ putting some pressure, creating some turnovers, creating some scoring chances.”
On Saturday, following his team’s 5-4 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Martin had some interesting things to say about adapting to his new team in his second go-around as Ottawa’s head coach.
“We have the core here, we have some skill and some talent,” Martin said. “It’s about rounding out their games. We have to make sure they still play to their strengths but at the same time they develop their game management. It’s about them playing a style of game that’s conducive to them.
“As a coach you look at your personnel and that dictates how you’re going to play the game.”
Players and fans alike have seen more teaching moments, even while the games are going on. Along with Martin, former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson has joined the bench staff to coach the forwards and power play.
“If I make a mistake and come back to the bench they’re showing me, and it’s glued in my mind right away,” Batherson said.
“It’s great. They’re a nice calming presence back there for us and it’s been awesome so far.”
The Senators are back home to face the New Jersey Devils Friday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.