The playoffs have indeed begun! The postseason games that have a reputation for being much wilder, with harder punches thrown and more bizarre player antics than the regular season, did not disappoint in round 1, game 1 between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. According to David Pignotta of The Fourth Period, who provided live updates during the match, things started to go down when Senators center Ridly Grieg nearly skated into the Leafs bench and Auston Matthews, well, responded, to put it lightly.

That’s right, when Grieg nearly went into the Leafs bench, Leafs captain Auston Matthews grabbed hold of his stick and broke it in two. However, this wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing where Matthews felt the overbearing need to split a stick. His actions could be based on one of many things that Ridly did leading up to this moment where he got literally too close for comfort, and let’s be honest, there is little that is less comfortable than a broken stick in the playoffs.

As mentioned, Ridly did seem to be asking for it. Cross-checking Tavares in the side of the head earlier in the game and his open-netter antics in that game last February, something that Matthews publicly commented on, saying, “I don’t think it’s really necessary to go down there and (do a) hardest shot competition into the net.” So it can be argued that Ridly nearly skating into the Leafs bench was akin to playing with fire, i.e., he was asking for it. At least fans seem to think so.

Fan reactions to Auston Matthews breaking Grieg Ridly’s stick

Considering the Senators paid for their rough playing with a big loss, 6-2 is a real hard-biting reality check. Fans seemed to stand by Matthews, whose stick breakage seemed like the only resolution to a night where the Senators were handing penalties out like cookies.

“Thata boy Matty,” One fan wrote on X, adding, “the moron goof (Ridly) tried to take out Stolarz . Should be suspensions for the crosschecks to the head all night.” This hinted at the time Ridly spent in the box taking out unnecessary penalties, and while Stolarz wasn’t officially cross-checked, Ridly seemed to be on a rampage, with even Senators coach Travis Green saying postgame, “We definitely have to stay out of the box, I’ll say that.”

“Rockstar shit,” Another fan wrote praising Matthews’ move and how, after a night of unscrupulous penalties that got the Senators nowhere, Matthews seemed to at least balance out the scales in terms of everyone knowing who’s boss. Well, the scoresheet did that as well, but, you know. Tkachuk had a lot riding on his shoulders, given he’s just returned after injury and the new Senators playing style seems so heavily modeled after his own enforcer-influenced approach, so maybe Matthews move resonated with fans in multiple ways.

Other fans seemed to only now tip their hats to Matthews, who isn’t really known for aggressive play at all. Matthews, in fact, is popular for his discipline and strategic scoring, so to break a stick was a real step outside of his box…urm, because it was too full of Senators players? There is a better pun there somewhere. Anyway, this fan simply stated, “Matthews just gained his first ounce of testosterone there,” which is, indeed, a compliment, though a convoluted one.

Another fan harked back to the incident (one of many) that possibly inspired the stick break. Wherein Ridly cross-checked John Tavares on the side of the head, and initially for a 5-minute major offense that was changed to a 2-minute minor one, “2 minutes Ridly Greig for having a broking stick,” the fan wrote, jokingly pushing for an ‘even Stevens’ sort of situation.

And finally, there was the wise old “Welcome to the post season kid,” which felt like the initiation of Auston Matthews into the playoffs, though he’s been playing the postseason games since 2016. the stick incident made it feel like he is now in them for real, the big leagues. A momentous occasion for Matthews and, in a completely different way, for Ridly, I’m sure.