Ridly Greig's Cross-Check on Leafs' John Tavares Certainly Deserving of a Suspension

Much of the talk before Game 1 of the 'Battle of Ontario' was about Brady Tkachuk and how the Leafs would handle him. Once the puck dropped, however, it was his teammate, Ridly Greig, who took center-stage.

Since firing a puck into an empty net in February of last year, Greig has been public enemy number one for Leafs Nation.

For his actions, Greig received a cross-check from Morgan Rielly that led to a five-game suspension for the Leafs' defenseman.

Last night, with 14 minutes to go in the second period and the Leafs holding a 3-1 lead, Greig was on the delivering end of a dangerously high cross-check when he caught the head/neck of John Tavares.

Initially, Greig was given a major and a game misconduct by officials before they reviewed the play and changed their decision, only giving Greig a minor. The Leafs quickly capitalized on Greig's penalty, with Tavares scoring just seven seconds into the power-play.

For Greig, however, it appears that he won't be facing any supplemental discipline for his cross-check despite it being more direct and dangerous than Rielly's was last season. This is, of course, maddening to Leafs Nation, as Greig almost certainly deserves a suspension.

The Senators were full of 'piss and vinegar' in Game 1 while the Leafs remained much calmer and it paid off for them in the end. Greig and the Senators won't have much time to regroup with Game 2 going Tuesday night, but the hope from Leafs Nation is that the Sens continue to take undisciplined penalties and the Leafs' potent power play continues to click.