Well, the 'battle' lived up to the name for once. Toronto decided to take a page out of the Ducks playbook and run Redden all night. Only, Redden didn't back down. He fought twice, and not just pretend to fight and bear hug. Redden had his arm out of the jersey and was throwing some huge rights. I have new respect for that guy. I don't want Redden in the box all year, but adding a nasty side to his game is a good thing. He needs to prove himself this year, and that was a good start.
The bad thing is that the Sens looked flat. I think it was the undefeated pre-season. Toronto came out ready to play. Gerber was solid. Phillips kicked in a goal and Spezza was loafing on defense for another (big surprise), but Gerber was aggressive and looked confident. Heater had a big game. I have to admit that both of his goals were from his nasty-quick release and not shot placement. Raycroft simply fanned on them going 5-hole. I don't mind seeing Justin win the Pool this year, if it means he gets crazy points from Heatley and Alfredsson. I think they were good for three goals, one GWG.
Vermette looked pretty good. He was flying all over the ice and killed penalties well. Kelly was also very good on the PK. Donovan was good in a limited 4th line role, but seemed to cause havoc or draw a penalty on each of his shifts. Fisher and Volchenkov were their normal selves with some highlight hits. The bad side was a poor looking powerplay. That has to improve.
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