For a team who was coming into the season expecting to compete, there isn't a lot going right for the Ottawa Senators this season. Not only are the Senators at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings yet again, but they look like they may actually be selling off some assets at this year's deadline as well, meaning they may not be contenders next season either.
Obviously, there is no love lost between the Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially after the recent incident involving Ridly Greig and Morgan Rielly, which earned Rielly a 5-game suspension. Greig doesn't have many fans in Toronto after his empty net slapper heard 'round the world during the Leafs' last meeting with Ottawa, so, naturally, when he got pasted last night in Tampa, Leaf fans got a kick out of it.
During last night's meeting between the Sens and Lightning, two of the Leafs' heated Atlantic Division rivals, Tampa's Erik Cernak tracked down Grieg at centre ice and delivered a hard hit, which sent Greig crashing into the boards to a thunderous applause from fans at Amalie Arena.
Obviously, you never want to see a player get hurt, even as a rival fan, but there's nothing wrong with taking some joy in watching a player on a rival team get blown up in the neutral zone, as long as he pops back up, as Greig did here.
The Leafs and Senators do not play again this season, so we'll have to wait until next season to watch these two teams rekindle their rivalry. I can all but guarantee that Greig will be a guy they're looking for out there and that any checks laid on him will be finished with a little extra gusto.
