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Tuesday, December 14, 1999
Sens keep it simple
Players get Hall of Fame reward for win
By rights, the Ottawa Senators' visit to the Hockey Hall Of Fame today should be revoked on the basis of their affront to the spirit of the national pastime last night.
But with just two goals in three previous games and a lot of players either disabled or dissing their contracts, the Sens weren't out to please those residing in hockey's pantheon.
And after a 3-1 win over Toronto, jubilant coach Jacques Martin scrapped practice this morning in favour of a visit to the Hall before flying out west.
GUT CHECK
"It seems we've been trying to keep it that simple for weeks," Scarborough-born goalie Ron Tugnutt said after Ottawa's third win in 12 games. "(Last night's win) was a big gut check, against one of the top teams in the league."
Toronto captain Mats Sundin makes almost one third of the Sens' entire 1999-2000 player budget of $22 million US but, as has become the custom the past few years, the Maple Leafs were easily distracted by Ottawa. The Sens clogged the middle and used a combination of speed and corner work to limit the Leafs to 18 shots. The past seven Battles Of Ontario have been decided by two goals or less, with Ottawa winning four, including both games this season.
"That's their style of play and it has given us fits," Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn said. "It reared its ugly head again. They didn't have a breakout, they just shot it out."
With Chris Phillips facing ankle surgery tomorrow, and Sami Salo, Jason York and Igor Kravchuk also out, the Sens defencemen certainly weren't going to try any of the fancy passing or rushing that backfired on the Leafs.
"We didn't do anything we shouldn't have been trying," Grant Ledyard, 38, said. "I had some opportunity to watch this team on TV earlier (before he was signed as a free agent to fill the injury gap). I saw we came out with speed and got faster through the neutral zone, but we got away from that the past month."
Tugnutt, who was a Jonas Hoglund goal away from his fourth shutout of the season, agreed that the usual Senators cast, which challenged for first place in the NHL Eastern Conference last season, was starting to blossom despite the depleted roster.
"In the past few games we went out there hoping to win, but (last night) we took charge," Tugnutt said. "We found ourselves in a position to play for a win and we went for it. That's our team of old."
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