Ottawa Senators penalty problems: Passion or lack of discipline?

That penalty ratcheted up tension between the teams, and the hits kept coming. A crosscheck from Adam Gaudette of the Senators to the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews led to another Toronto goal, this time from William Nylander.

The Senators would be called for two more penalties in the second, with the Maple Leafs adding two of their own.

The third period would see the Senators assessed three more penalties and one more to the Maple Leafs before things took a turn. The initial penalty started with a high stick by Nicholas Robertson of the Maple Leafs to the Senators’ Nikolas Matinpalo at the 19:16 mark. Ottawa's Matthew Highmore came to his teammates’ defense with a roughing penalty, and then a scrum resulted.

Twelve total penalties were called, and the referee had to read them all from a piece of paper.

One final penalty was given to Nick Jensen at the end of the game for roughing. In total, the Senators had 15 penalties.

Fans expect the playoffs to be full of intensity. Players are going to bring passion to every game, and it’s going to lead to penalties. It’s the normal playoff hockey atmosphere.

However, the Senators cannot afford to take penalties like Greig’s against the more experienced Maple Leafs. The Senators haven’t been in the playoffs since 2017, and their younger players are hungry and eager to prove themselves. But players must be mindful about letting their emotions get in the way of playing well.

For Ottawa to make it to the second round, it must listen to its captain and be more disciplined.