Senators' Brady Tkachuk takes exception to Hischier's empty-net goal

After causing a stir in the hockey world when Ridly Greig buried a slapshot with an open cage against the Toronto Maple Leafs in February, the Ottawa Senators are once again in the middle of a controversy involving an empty net.

After time had run out in the Senators' 4-3 loss to the Devils on Saturday night, Nico Hischier slid the puck into Ottawa's net, causing Brady Tkachuk to skate across the ice and confront New Jersey's captain.

The two teams came together at centre ice, and referees had to separate Tkachuk and Devils defenceman Brendan Smith, who had dropped their gloves and were about to fight.

After the Greig incident sparked debate over "unwritten rules," the Senators came to the defence of their teammate's actions.

"We as a group, we stand behind (Greig)," forward Tim Stützle said.

After Greig scored the empty-net goal, Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Reilly cross-checked the forward in the head — a move that landed him a five-game suspension.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I was crying, laughing until the cross-check happened, and then the wires crossed a little bit," Tkachuk said during an appearance on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast. "If you know (Greig), and I hope a lot of people get to know him, he's one of the best guys around."

While you would expect a team to stand with their teammates, it's perhaps a bit ironic that Tkachuk and the Senators would take exception to Hischier calmly scoring a goal that didn't count on Saturday night.

Tkachuk, who set an NHL record in the salary cap era with 16 hits in the game, caused some chaos at the end of the first period as well, when he hit Hishcier into the boards. The two teams came together after the play.

Whether or not the incident earlier in the game fed into the post-game reaction, there is sure to be some fallout from the difference between Greig's goal in Ottawa two months ago and Hischier's on Saturday night.