TORONTO – The soulless din of computer-generated ambient fan sound.
The giant blue, seat-covering tarps advertising food that wasn’t served (Pizza Pizza) and drinks forbidden to be guzzled (Gatorade).
And the fact that more bears were spotted in the lower bowl (one, Carlton) than humans.
It all adds up to the feeling that, even as we flip the calendar forward, we are somehow slipping backward.
A New Year’s Day Battle of Ontario, one preceded by weeks of inactivity by the participants, should’ve been a fun way to ring in 2022. A release, if not a celebration.
Instead, the mood inside Scotiabank Arena Saturday felt flatter than the Ottawa Senators’ rebuild trajectory does these days.
Yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, handily the better team, cruised to a 6-0 laugher with offensive contributions from a trio of unlikely heroes.
But one couldn’t help but wonder if a little crowd juice could’ve either sparked some celebration or a scrum or something, anything to give the first Canadian hockey match of 2022 a jolt of life.
“I wish it was a full crowd,” Sens captain Brady Tkachuk lamented. “I know the province put in rules to keep people safe. I just wish they gave people the choice, the decision to come to games instead of just taking it away. It stings.”
Despite the lopsided run of play, there were moments a home crowd would’ve lapped up.
With Morgan Rielly in the penalty box, the Maple Leafs pounced on the board by scoring two shorthanded goals just 27 seconds apart, tying a club record (set in 1986).
The first was a beautiful 2-on-1 strike by defenceman Justin Holl, whose New Year’s resolution appears to cease being the coach’s whipping boy. Holl rejoiced his first of the season with both bloody nostrils stuffed with gauze — a necessary amendment following this frightening brush with partner Rasmus Sandin’s skate:
The second shorthanded goal belonged to the speedy Ilya Mikheyev. Participating in just his second game of the season, the Russian burst up the middle and beat Ottawa’s Matt Murray clean top-shelf on a breakaway. (He would later add a third-period power-play goal.)
T.J. Brodie, who assisted on both PK goals, scored on a wraparound in the second period. He later made a goal-line save at the other end, punctuating his three-point night with several smart D-zone plays.
In their first action since mid-December, the Leafs were clearly shaking off some rust in the early going, but they still had the puck all night.
William Nylander — fresh off an asymptomatic 10-day Call of Duty quarantine — delivered a third-period breakaway snipe.
The COVID-depleted Senators played weak and uninspired, which can at least partly be attributed to losing four more players to the dreaded protocol over the past 48 hours.
The Sens mustered far too few high-danger chances and seldom sustained zone time in the Toronto end. They also committed way too many sloppy minor penalties. (Zach Sanford alone got dinged for a hold, a cross-check, and a trip — coming a hook short of hitting for the cycle.)
With their $6.25-million goalie still hunting his first win of the season and their points percentage (.347) tumbling below last season’s (.455), the club seems already resolved to test its luck in another draft lottery.
The Maple Leafs — winners of four of their past five — will take the easy points and a few more days off.
Their next test arrives Wednesday, when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers make their annual trek to Toronto.
Man, would fans love to fill the barn for that one.
Fox’s Fast 5
• Mitch Marner played his first game in exactly one month, following a shoulder injury he suffered in practice when he accidentally collided with Jake Muzzin.
“Jake’s probably one of my best friends on this team. We had some nice words about it, then it’s back to loving each other,” Marner said. “We got over it pretty quickly.”
• With Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren unfit to play, Alex Biega made his Maple Leafs debut.
The 33-year-old journeyman turned pro in 2010 and has yet to participate in an NHL playoff game — a major reason he signed with Toronto as a depth option in the off-season.
“This is a winning team, a winning culture,” Biega said. “We have superstars on this team.
“I’m just happy to be here.”
• Nick Ritchie was a healthy scratch for the first time as a Leaf.
• Pretty sneaky, Mitch.
• Death to fake crowd noise.
