Senators’ Green believes Maple Leafs did a ‘good job selling’ penalty calls

The Ottawa Senators found themselves on the wrong side of the penalty margin in Game 1, and the Toronto Maple Leafs took advantage.

Ottawa allowed three power-play goals against in the series opener and finished the night with 38 minutes in penalties in the 6-2 loss.

Head coach Travis Green was asked about the calls that went against his team. While he stressed the importance of staying out of the box, he added that he didn’t think undisciplined play was the only reason his team was penalized as much as it was.

“We definitely have to stay out of the box. I’ll say that. At the end of the game, sometimes things might get a little out of hand once in a while,” Green told reporters after the game. “I thought there were a couple of calls that they did a good job at selling. It’s tough on the refs but we can’t take that many penalties that’s for sure.”

During the regular season, the Senators played a style of hockey that earned them a league-high 349 penalties drawn. In Game 1, the powerplay margin was 6-2 in favour of the Maple Leafs.

Despite the loss, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk believes his team played well enough in Game 1 to win and that fewer penalties could have changed the outcome.

“Obviously not the result that we want, but it’s clear as day what the issue was, we took too many penalties, they scored on us, and that’s the game,” Tkachuk said. “That’s on us. We’ve got to be more disciplined. In everybody’s first game, jitters and errors, whatever you want to call it, but now that that’s passed, it doesn’t change the mindset.

The Senators will look to even the series in Game 2 on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.

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