Greig trying to do his part for Senators in Eastern 1st Round

TORONTO -- The Battle of Ontario is heating up just two games into the Eastern Conference First Round, with the biggest area of contention taking place in the goal crease of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That’s where Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig has been creating all sorts of chaos for the Maple Leafs and goalie Anthony Stolarz, a trend Greig and his teammates hope to continue in Game 3 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, ESPN2).

Greig’s pesky and distracting tactics on Stolarz’s doorstep have threatened to make him public enemy No. 1 in Toronto, potentially usurping Senators captain Brady Tkachuk of that title.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun playing hockey,” Greig said Wednesday of the first two games of the best-of-7 series, which Ottawa trails 2-0. “I’m just enjoying it, and the compete is certainly a lot of fun.”

Even if he’s being portrayed as a villain?

“I don’t know. I think people can kind of say whatever they want,” he said. “I’m just trying to go out there and play, kind of just do whatever I can to help the guys win.”

But Stolarz has stood his ground and pushed back, which has made their encounters one of the more intriguing matchups of the series. It has become must-watch TV for anyone not privileged enough to be in attendance.

Remember this too: there is history between Greig and the Maple Leafs.

On Feb. 10, 2024, the host Senators were leading 4-3 when Greig put an exclamation point on the win by drilling a slap shot into an empty net with Maple Leafs goalie Martin Jones pulled for an extra attacker in the game’s final seconds. Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly took exception and cross-checked Greig in the head, an act that resulted in a five-game suspension.

After the season, Senators owner Michael Andlauer called it his favorite moment of the 2023-24 campaign.

One year later, Greig’s feistiness against the Maple Leafs has continued.

Late in Game 1, a 6-2 loss to Toronto at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, Greig slid feet-first into Stolarz. Asked about the incident afterward, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube referred to Greig as “annoying.” Stolarz claimed publicly he didn’t think it had been done on purpose.

Privately, however, you have to wonder if the goalie did feel there’d been intent, especially after the feud escalated in the second period of Game 2 when Stolarz, obviously irritated with Greig being in his face, began whacking Greig before eventually laying a body check.

“Just a nice battle in front of the net,” Greig said. “That’s about it.

“You’re just trying to get in his eyes. There’s kind of a fine line [between] being just inside the crease and being just on top of it. I was just trying to battle in front of the net. He wasn’t having it. I love to compete, so it was good.”

Each received a minor penalty -- Stolarz for interference; Greig for roughing.

“I’ve taken quite a few penalties in my day,” Stolarz said after the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 overtime win. “ Just one of those things that it didn’t matter. I didn’t even know who it was, who it is. Just one of those heat-of-the-moment (things), and it is what it is.”

Stolarz, it seemed, was being coy when claiming he couldn’t identify the culprit involved, given that Greig’s No. 71 was directly in front of him for much of the night.

Asked about the actions of his 6-foot-6 goalie, Berube replied, “I have seen that with goalies before. I really don’t have a problem with it.”

Neither does Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who played junior hockey with Stolarz with London of the Ontario Hockey League more than a decade ago.

“I’ve known ‘Stolley’ for a long time, and I’ve seen that in junior too,” Marner said. “He’s a big man. He sticks up for himself. It’s good for him.”

Like it or not, crowding the area in front of the net with the likes of Tkachuk and Greig is a tactic the Senators are expected to continue in Game 3, as they should. Both their goals in Game 2 came with traffic in front of Stolarz.

It's a blueprint most successful postseason teams employ this time of year. Where the debate often comes in is the grey area concerning the difference between screening the goalie and inhibiting his ability to stop pucks.

Either way, expect plenty of the same in Ottawa, where the team’s loyal and rabid fan base will be treated to its first home Stanley Cup Playoff game since the Senators reached the conference final in 2017 before being eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Canadian Tire Centre is usually stuffed with blue-and-white clad Maple Leafs supporters whenever Toronto visits, but Andlauer said prior to the series he didn’t expect it would be like that this time around. Part of the reason: each Senators season-ticket holder was allowed to purchase two additional seats.

Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 series like the Maple Leafs have owns an all-time record of 353-56 (.863), including 266-34 (.887) when starting at home.

“It’ll be a different vibe here for sure,” Greig said. “I know Sens fans have been looking forward to this for a while now. I’m looking forward to getting out there.

“It’s not a series until someone loses at home. We’ve got to take care of business here, kind of have a business mindset going into this game.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Callum Fraser contributed to this report