Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Michael Bunting and Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom chase down the puck during the third period at Scotiabank Arena on Jan 1.Nick Turchiaro/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
The Maple Leafs eased into 2022 on Saturday night with a quiet engagement with the Senators at Scotiabank Arena. Spectators were excluded from the New Year’s get-together and canned crowd noise echoed through the nearly empty rink.
It seemed so grim and 2020 and, thanks to the Omicron variant, it was.
Pandemic hockey proceeded into its third calendar year with Toronto trouncing the visitors, 6-0. Ottawa is riddled with COVID-19 and crippled by injuries, but even so did not put up much of a struggle in this battle of Ontario that gets duller and duller.
The Maple Leafs skated mostly unabated throughout and scored short-handed twice in a span of 26 seconds in the first period in a victory made all too easy by their opponent. The goals by Justin Holl and Ilya Mikheyev tied a club record for the two fastest shorthanded. It equalled a feat accomplished by Borje Salming and Greg Terrion against the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium in November of 1986.
It was Toronto’s first home game since Dec. 11 and first game at all in 18 days because of the latest wave of illness to ravage the NHL. The Senators had not played in two weeks and were as rusty as one would expect and appeared unmotivated in a way one wouldn’t.
“We just didn’t have it,” said D.J. Smith, the Ottawa coach. “That was clear from the get-go.”
The Maple Leafs outshot the Senators 40-23 and went 39-22 in the faceoff circle. Ottawa got called for six penalties and was scored upon twice when it had a man-advantage. Yikes. Quick, D.J., bury this game film in a snowbank beside the Rideau Canal.
“I thought we did a good job early in the game by not giving them any life,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Neither Auston Matthews nor Mitch Marner, who returned to the lineup for the first time in 31 days, registered a point, but it wasn’t really needed.
Holl’s goal was his first of the season in 25 games. Mikheyev, who had been hurt and ill, scored twice – his first two of the campaign. T.J. Brodie scored on a wraparound; it was his second overall and third since he signed with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2020. That is a span of 87 regular-season games.
William Nylander scored twice in the third period and Jack Campbell had 23 saves in his fourth shutout of 2021-22. John Tavares, playing in his 900th regular-season game, went 11-4 in faceoffs.
There was a lot to like, no doubt, but something missing.
“As much as I was happy with our players’ engagement, I don’t think the game itself had a whole lot of emotion or energy or competitiveness, physicality, all those kinds of things that tend to ramp up when fans are in the building,” Keefe said. “The game was void of that tonight.”
Said Holl, “It was a lot like last year, kind of one of those games where you’ve got to form your own energy and create your own juice as a team.”
A game against the Carolina Hurricanes scheduled for Monday at Scotiabank Arena has been postponed because of the coronavirus. The Maple Leafs play on home ice again on Wednesday. It would be one of the season’s most-watched games with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lining up against Matthews and Marner in their only visit to Toronto.
McDavid leads the league in points. Draisaitl is first in goals. Matthews is third and on Sunday was chosen the NHL’s first star of the month. He had 10 goals and 14 points in December in seven games.
Beyond the teams and their support staff, nobody will catch the action live inside the rink. It is a pity and a sombre reminder of the circumstances we are in. It is cold and grey and cases are climbing.
Call it the curse of COVID-19, 20, 21 and now 22.