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When the Ottawa Senators took to the ice on Sunday night in Toronto for their first Stanley Cup playoff game in eight years, there were more than a few eyebrows raised over the absence of feisty winger Nick Cousins.
Cousins won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season and has played in 63 playoff games. Only David Perron (105) and Claude Giroux (96) have more career playoff appearances.
Following knee surgery in late January, Cousins returned for the club’s final three games of the regular season and looked fine and healthy, putting up two points. But head coach Travis Green opted to stick him in the press box on Sunday, going instead with Matthew Highmore.
After a 6-2 loss in Game 1, Green wouldn’t talk about Game 2 lineup changes on Tuesday, which is very much on brand. He’s been hesitant to do so all season, so why would the playoffs be any different?
But Green had Cousins skating in his usual spot on the fourth line on Tuesday, while Highmore was suddenly moved to his off-wing. If he rosters Cousins on Tuesday, he says he's ready.
“I feel good,” Cousins told the media on Tuesday. “I mean, obviously, I’m going to want to try and come in and help the guys out and provide some energy and get a win at the end of the day. That’s what we need to do tonight and get a split on the road and then head home and have our fans behind us for Games 3 and 4.”
One of the biggest Senator sins in Game 1 was their parade to the penalty box and going 3/6 on the ensuing penalty kill attempts. The club’s silver lining was that their five-on-five play was excellent.
“I think we’ve got to stay more disciplined and out of the box,” Cousins said. “They have a really good power play, and they made us pay for our penalties last game. So, I mean, that was kind of the story of the game, and I think we just got to be a little bit more disciplined and then stay out of the box and keep the game five-on-five and should set ourselves up for a better chance at a win.”
Ridly Greig didn’t skate on Tuesday, which meant Fabian Zetterlund moved up to take his spot on the third line. That got the speculation wheels turning. If Highmore is the healthy scratch for Tuesday, then it's Highmore who would likely be Greig’s placeholder on the third line, and they’d leave Zetterlund to practice with his usual line.
Or maybe it's standard playoff gamesmanship. These were the line combinations from Tuesday's game-day skate as reported by The Hockey News-Ottawa's Graeme Nichols:
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Perron-Cozens-Batherson
Zetterlund-Pinto-Amadio
Cousins-Gaudette-Highmore
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Hamonic
Kleven-Matinpalo
Gilbert
Ullmark
Forsberg
Greig’s health aside, he was effective in Game 1, and his antics didn’t sit well with the Leafs and their fans, who already dislike him for the slapshot into an empty net last year. On one play Sunday night, Greig took the puck hard to the net and collided hard with Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Cousins had some strong opinions about both players, who are teammates past and present. He won a Stanley Cup last season with Stolarz as a member of the Florida Panthers.
“Yeah, obviously, I got to know him really well last year. He’s a good buddy of mine. I still keep in touch with him on a regular basis. And so, so happy for him to be able to do what he did this year. He’s playing really well for them and obviously followed it up with a great performance last game.
“He’s got a great personality too. I really enjoyed getting to know him. I think as a team we have to do a better job getting in front of the net a little bit more. Obviously, if he sees it, he’s going to stop it.”
As for Greig, he also has a fan in Cousins – not a huge surprise since they play such similar styles.
“100 percent,” Greig told the Coming in Hot podcast team on Tuesday. “He’s my favourite player, I’m telling you right now, this guy is awesome. He’s going to be one of those guys, deep into the playoffs, he’s going to score big goals.
“This team’s so lucky to have him.”
Cousins may not have Greig’s offensive upside, but after that, they’re extremely similar players. If Greig can’t go on Tuesday, Cousins’ return is all the more important. If Greig does play, then the Sens are just all the more annoying and harder to play against.
And in the Battle of Ontario, that's never a bad thing.
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Cousins won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season and has played in 63 playoff games. Only David Perron (105) and Claude Giroux (96) have more career playoff appearances.
Following knee surgery in late January, Cousins returned for the club’s final three games of the regular season and looked fine and healthy, putting up two points. But head coach Travis Green opted to stick him in the press box on Sunday, going instead with Matthew Highmore.
After a 6-2 loss in Game 1, Green wouldn’t talk about Game 2 lineup changes on Tuesday, which is very much on brand. He’s been hesitant to do so all season, so why would the playoffs be any different?
But Green had Cousins skating in his usual spot on the fourth line on Tuesday, while Highmore was suddenly moved to his off-wing. If he rosters Cousins on Tuesday, he says he's ready.
“I feel good,” Cousins told the media on Tuesday. “I mean, obviously, I’m going to want to try and come in and help the guys out and provide some energy and get a win at the end of the day. That’s what we need to do tonight and get a split on the road and then head home and have our fans behind us for Games 3 and 4.”
One of the biggest Senator sins in Game 1 was their parade to the penalty box and going 3/6 on the ensuing penalty kill attempts. The club’s silver lining was that their five-on-five play was excellent.
“I think we’ve got to stay more disciplined and out of the box,” Cousins said. “They have a really good power play, and they made us pay for our penalties last game. So, I mean, that was kind of the story of the game, and I think we just got to be a little bit more disciplined and then stay out of the box and keep the game five-on-five and should set ourselves up for a better chance at a win.”
Ridly Greig didn’t skate on Tuesday, which meant Fabian Zetterlund moved up to take his spot on the third line. That got the speculation wheels turning. If Highmore is the healthy scratch for Tuesday, then it's Highmore who would likely be Greig’s placeholder on the third line, and they’d leave Zetterlund to practice with his usual line.
Or maybe it's standard playoff gamesmanship. These were the line combinations from Tuesday's game-day skate as reported by The Hockey News-Ottawa's Graeme Nichols:
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Perron-Cozens-Batherson
Zetterlund-Pinto-Amadio
Cousins-Gaudette-Highmore
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Hamonic
Kleven-Matinpalo
Gilbert
Ullmark
Forsberg
Greig’s health aside, he was effective in Game 1, and his antics didn’t sit well with the Leafs and their fans, who already dislike him for the slapshot into an empty net last year. On one play Sunday night, Greig took the puck hard to the net and collided hard with Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Cousins had some strong opinions about both players, who are teammates past and present. He won a Stanley Cup last season with Stolarz as a member of the Florida Panthers.
“Yeah, obviously, I got to know him really well last year. He’s a good buddy of mine. I still keep in touch with him on a regular basis. And so, so happy for him to be able to do what he did this year. He’s playing really well for them and obviously followed it up with a great performance last game.
“He’s got a great personality too. I really enjoyed getting to know him. I think as a team we have to do a better job getting in front of the net a little bit more. Obviously, if he sees it, he’s going to stop it.”
As for Greig, he also has a fan in Cousins – not a huge surprise since they play such similar styles.
“100 percent,” Greig told the Coming in Hot podcast team on Tuesday. “He’s my favourite player, I’m telling you right now, this guy is awesome. He’s going to be one of those guys, deep into the playoffs, he’s going to score big goals.
“This team’s so lucky to have him.”
Cousins may not have Greig’s offensive upside, but after that, they’re extremely similar players. If Greig can’t go on Tuesday, Cousins’ return is all the more important. If Greig does play, then the Sens are just all the more annoying and harder to play against.
And in the Battle of Ontario, that's never a bad thing.
Continue reading...
