All eyes on grudge match

Photo: The Canadian Press

Erik Gudbranson trudged off the ice at Air Canada Centre last month furious at what had just happened.

His Vancouver Canucks were embarrassed 6-3 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on the scoreboard in the eighth defeat of what would turn into a nine-game losing streak.

That was only part of the reason for his seething anger.

It really started when veteran teammates Jannik Hansen and Daniel Sedin were felled by crushing — and in the case of the latter, controversial — hits from Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri in quick succession that infuriated the Canucks.

There were also spears, fights and slashes on both sides in a wild third period before Toronto's Matt Martin started pummelling rookie Troy Stecher, an exchange that prompted Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller to jump in against the bruising winger

A full line brawl ensued as the teams combined for 171 penalty minutes on the night, including 157 in the third alone. Miller and Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen, who skated the length of the ice to join the fray, were both tossed.

After the game, Gudbranson made a point of yelling in the vicinity of reporters outside the locker-rooms that: "Matt Martin's dead."

The Canucks got a call from the league about those comments, and both teams did their best to cool the temperature of the rivalry, at least publicly, ahead of tonight's rematch at Rogers Arena.

Gudbranson said Friday he has never had any intention of following through on the threats he shouted back on Nov. 5.

"It was kind of a fit of rage that I had," said the hulking defenceman. "I understand that it was wrong, but the number of times that I've said that is probably higher than most people expect. Do I mean it? No. That's the honest truth. I'm not going to kill the guy. But I was just frustrated at that point."

For his part, Martin said he never heard the comments directly and is solely focused on helping his team get a win tonight.

"I would say both teams probably got caught up in the emotions," said Martin. "That's sports, that's hockey and things like that happen. It will be important to keep your emotions in check."

The NHL will be paying close attention to the game — senior league officials are expected in the building — and, like his players, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock tried to douse water on any talk of retribution.

"What I have found over the years is that there is always a lot of talk and nothing happens," he said. "Just play the game. It's a new game. Both teams want to win and both teams can't be foolish."

The Canucks (10-12-2) and Leafs (10-9-4) will each be looking to rebound after posting disappointing losses last time out. Vancouver fell 3-1 on Thursday at home to Anaheim, while Toronto was shut out 3-0 in Calgary a night earlier.