Ottawa Senators refuse to go quietly into the off-season in Game 4 loss to Hurricanes

2 hours ago 6

Ottawa Senator Tyler Kleven tries to hit Alexander Nikishin

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The Ottawa Senators refused to go down without a fight.

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It wasn’t a win for Ottawa on Saturday, but there was no shortage of scores settled in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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The trouble actually began in a 2-1 loss in Game 3 when a hit by Taylor Hall on Jake Sanderson in the second period left the latter with a concussion, and that set up some chaos on Saturday afternoon.

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Defenceman Tyler Kleven started the trouble in the second period when he lowered the boom on Alexander Nikishin along the boards. He had to be helped off the ice, and Kleven was jumped by Andrei Svechnikov.

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The Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes react after a Tyler Kleven hit on Alexander Nikishin

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That may have been one of the hardest hits in the NHL this season.

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“I thought that they were being physical, and part of my game is being physical,” said Kleven. “We had a hit earlier in the series, where Sandy got caught up high, and sometimes that needs to be addressed.

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“I saw a play where he had possession of the puck, and I just tried to take the puck away from him basically.”

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Tempers were boiling at the CTC

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The temperature was turned up high in the second period.

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It was wild as these two teams went toe-to-toe.

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Ottawa Senator Brady Tkachuk and other Ottawa Senators in a scrum with the Carolina Hurricanes

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The Senators finally brought some bad blood into this series.

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They did it by launching some hard, crushing hits that had the Hurricanes incensed, and Ridly Greig stirred the soup with what looked like a sucker-punch on Sean Walker.

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He had already been to the box for running goalie Frederik Andersen.

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Walker got payback late in the second by slamming Greig into the glass with 1:39 left in the second. Greig may get a call from the league and may start next season with a suspension. Many felt the NHL’s department of hockey operations should have stepped in there.

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Ottawa Senator Carter Yakemchuk gets hit by Jordan Staal

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Coach Travis Green didn’t mind the melee.

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“I kind of liked it. For starters, we like to play on the edge,” said Green. “I think in playoff hockey, you see hatred starts to build as the series goes on. And I liked we showed a lot of fight in our game. We weren’t going to quit. We weren’t going to go away quietly.

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“And we didn’t give their team credit, like they’re battle tested. They’ve been through a lot. They’ve been through some, I’m sure, a lot of crazy games in the playoffs over the years, and they found a way to get the job done in a hostile game.”

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Where was this earlier in the series?

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Ottawa Senators fight the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period

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Svechnikov jumped in to defend his teammate, but Kleven can’t fight because he’s still recovering from a broken jaw.

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Kleven’s hit was reviewed, but he only ended up with a minor, and the Senators were able to get a power play. That had Nicolas Deslauriers letting the Ottawa bench know there could be trouble, and he followed up later.

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“Is it the smartest thing to hit someone in the back of the neck? That’s playoffs,” said Kleven.

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