The city of Ottawa, Ontario Speaking for the first time since Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly cross-checked Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig summarized the ensuing aftermath by stating he “didn’t think it would get this far.”
However, Greig held court at his locker stall three days after the event, following Ottawa’s 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. He answered questions regarding his decision to slam a puck into an open net against the Maple Leafs, as well as his thoughts on the NHL’s response.
“I’ve tried to stay offline the past couple of days,” Greig stated. “An opinion will be held by everyone on it. It’s likely that they will either adore it or detest it. I don’t find it important.”
Due to the cross-check earlier in the day, Rielly received a five-game suspension from the league’s Department of Player Safety. The incident occurred shortly after Greig’s short-range goal with 5.1 seconds left in Ottawa’s 5-3 victory.
“To put it briefly, this isn’t a hockey play. The NHL Player Safety judgment on Tuesday stated, “This is an intentional, forceful strike to an opponent’s head, using a stick as a weapon to exact retribution on an opponent well after a goal is scored.”
Leaving the decision to “the league,” Greig concurred with a reporter that Rielly had taken him by surprise following the goal.
“A little bit,” Greig replied. You’re not expecting a guy to cross-check you in the face, in my opinion. I’m not sure if he intended to do that, though.
In order to avoid drawing attention to themselves from the losing team, the scoring team usually just puts the puck into the net or attempts a wrist shot when they score an empty-net goal. Players almost seldom end up with a slap shot, particularly this near to the crease.
Greig responded, “It was a lot of adrenaline,” when asked what went through his mind when he chose to take the slap shot. It was the intensity of the situation, the intensity of the match. The game was quite emotional. I assumed I would bury the breakaway that I just got.”
It definitely triggered the Maple Leafs, even outside of Rielly.
“The outcome of the empty-netter was clearly disappointing to us,” Toronto captain John Tavares stated on Saturday. “So, we’re going to stick together and stand our ground when necessary.”
Greig’s eighth goal of the year came during a spurt of Senators offense in the victory over the Blue Jackets.
Ottawa won its fourth straight game behind a goal and two assists from Claude Giroux, and a hat trick from Brady Tkachuk, his second of the career.
“We needed everybody to step up, and I just hope we can build off of it,” Tkachuk stated. We’ve had plenty of looks the past two games, but we haven’t been able to bury it. We just need to keep progressing because this was a turning point.”
Leave a Reply