Even with a three-game winning streak after beating the Toronto maple Leafs 5-3 on Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators are basement dwellers in the NHL’s Atlantic Division. With the Leafs jockeying for playoff position, you can understand why Toronto’s players might be a little irked about losing to an inferior opponent. However, nothing could’ve prepared anyone for the wrath of Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Sens forward Ridly Greig is kind of a punk-ish 21-year-old who got the brilliant idea to troll Toronto when he broke away to open ice and had the chance to score an empty-net insurance goal. With the goalie pulled and the Leafs trying for the equalizer, Greig pulled away from the defense, made sure he was at point-blank range, wound up, and straight-up ripped a slap shot for an ENG.
Rielly was not pleased, and proceeded to absolutely whack Greig in the face with his stick:
Greig thought he was being funny and cute. Not so much when your face potentially gets rearranged and you slam into the boards for good measure. No surprise that it created a semi-brawl of sorts.
Gotta love the unwritten rules of hockey. There are certain things you just don’t do. Ridly Greig did one of those things. Morgan Rielly was there to let him know about it.
When you see the second angle of Rielly’s cross-check, it looks pretty damn bad.
Here’s the thing, though: The vast majority of spectators and, of course, Rielly’s own team are defending his actions. Was it worth the possible suspension? Perhaps! Not that I’d advocate for such violent action in any other context, but hockey ain’t no normal sport.
This is a game in which referees literally halt all the action, and two or more dudes throw their gloves down and proceed to try to batter each other to a pulp. Nobody stops them. So yeah…I’m not surprised to see a lot of folks stumping for what Rielly did — even Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe!
We’ve made it to Super Bowl Sunday, y’all, where field-side suites at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium are going for upper six figures.
Now it’s about that time to cram for hockey season as we gear up for the run to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Morgan Rielly has set the tone for all of us puck lovers!
