Not a thing of great beauty but an orangutan off the captain’s back after zero points and a mere four shots through two games, which already had the cranks kvetching.
asserted
cranks → have → games
What matters most, even in the early sprout of a season: In the first skirmish of the Battle of Ontario, Ottawa knocked off Toronto 3-2, drawing first blood in what surely will be a frenzied wrangle for playoff inclusion in the fiercely contested Atlantic Division.
asserted
what → matter → Division
Although it should more fittingly have been labelled as the battle of Whitehorse, with teenager Gavin McKenna versus fellow Whitehorser Dylan Cozens.
asserted
it → label → Cozens
Except neither made a chicken scratch on the scoresheet.
asserted
neither → make → scoresheet
The Leafs, however, looked entirely too familiar: a lame power play, a gush of turnovers.
asserted
Leafs → look → turnovers
“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Matthews insisted afterward and he wasn’t wrong, until a scrambly third period.
asserted
he → think → period
“The second period was good, we really kind of took over a little bit and made it difficult on them.
asserted
it → take → them
Then some unlucky bounces, some posts, and then just got a little undisciplined at the end and they capitalized.
asserted
they → get → end
“You’re trying to chase it the last six, seven minutes to find (a goal).
asserted
You → try → goal
We weren’t able to do it.”
asserted
We → do → it
Matthews’ top line, with Marchenko and Jack Roslovic, is finding its legs, not to worry.
asserted
line → find → legs
But woes continue for the second trio of William Nylander — despite his two goals in the season opener — John Tavares and McKenna.
asserted
woes → continue → opener
On Saturday, it was actually hard to tell where that line started and ended as coach Jim Hiller shook things up, seeking offence.
asserted
Hiller → tell → offence
Ottawa struck first, with 1:08 left in the opening period, during a sequence where Marchenko was headed off the ice on a line change and the puck suddenly re-entered Leafs territory on a turnover at centre ice.
asserted
puck → strike → ice
Shane Pinto’s soft shot from the right wing was set aside by Sergei Bobrovsky but the rebound landed square on the stick of new captain Thomas Chabot, who had manoeuvred himself behind the Leafs defence.
asserted
who → set → defence
A sprawling Bobrovsky couldn’t get his blocker on that puck as the Senators scored the game’s opening goal on their eighth shot, the first time in three games that Toronto hadn’t scored first.
asserted
Toronto → sprawl → games
It took all of 33 seconds for the Leafs to draw level in the second frame.
asserted
Leafs → take → frame
Matthews started and finished that episode, carrying the puck over Ottawa’s blue line, entering the zone with a head of steam, passing to Morgan Rielly at the point while he staked his spot in front of the crease.
asserted
he → start → crease
Rielly’s long shot was deflected on a tip hook around the body of defender Jordan Spence, deft touch waist-high, beating Linus Ullmark top shelf.
asserted
shot → deflect → Ullmark
Matthews hadn’t scored a goal since March 12.
asserted
Matthews → score → March
But of course that was also the last game he played last season, his campaign ended with a dirty knee-on-knee hit.
asserted
campaign → play → hit
“I think we’re going in a good direction,” Matthews said of his forward unit.
asserted
Matthews → think → unit
“Each night the chemistry is growing a little bit more and more.
asserted
chemistry → grow → ?
And the more practice time we get and game time, it’s going to continue to get better.”
asserted
it → get → ?
Toronto grabbed a short-lived lead on a Marchenko power-play marker, a nifty forehand-backhand move at the top of the paint.
asserted
Toronto → grab → paint
The Leafs were 2-for-8 on the power play on the season at that point, nothing to write home about.
asserted
Leafs → write → home
The Leafs had just survived a slashing penalty to Easton Cowan, keeping their penalty kill at a perfect 100 per cent, when Michael Amadio finished off a slick two-on-one with only Rielly back, making it 2-2 at 12:40.
asserted
it → survive → 12:40
Toronto dodged a power-play bullet again — Ottawa went 0-for-5 — when Marchenko was sent off for the second time on a high-sticking misdemeanour.
asserted
Marchenko → dodge → misdemeanour
But the big Russian couldn’t rejoin the play racing out of the box.
asserted
Russian → rejoin → box
Ottawa pulled ahead for the second and final time, Stephen Halliday smack on the doorstep to pop the puck into an open net.
asserted
Halliday → pull → net
The Leafs were lucky to avert an ice-long own goal into an empty net in the dying minutes, with Bobrovsky on the bench for an extra attacker.
asserted
Bobrovsky → avert → attacker
The closest they got to forcing overtime was a Matthews shot that rang off the post.
asserted
that → get → post
The Aporia
