The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs personify the definition of being rivals. They equal each other in their desirable quantity to win. That is to say the two teams are rivals during the regular season but in the playoffs the relationship changes and the balance differs. The Sens don't rival with the Leafs in the post-season, they contend with them.

Contend: To struggle in rivalry

Until the Senators defeat the Leafs in a playoff series they will continue to struggle in rivalry. It is a major obstacle to overcome and one that the Senators are constantly questioned about. See, you have to realize this feud is not something new, it has been brewing since 2000 when the Leafs and Sens first faced each other in a playoff series. The Leafs and Sens went on to face each other in three subsequent playoff years from 2000-2002 and each time the Leafs came away victorious.

	He's part of his own prolific public feud.

Despite your thoughts and feelings about where the two teams should rank, the collective thought of most is it's the most intense, heated and hatred filled relationship between any two teams currently in the NHL. Each game is like a Ja Rule - 50 Cent encounter. In a season where the Armageddon of collective bargaining talks dominates the headlines, the Battle of Ontario has captured the fans' attention and has everyone talking. Their games are high scoring affairs filled with lots of hard hits and plenty of fights. The action between the two teams doesn't stop there. Off the ice these teams take on the persona of a boxing event, complete with plenty of verbal jabs and trash talk. Would anyone be surprised if Owen Nolan started entering the arena with an entourage? Or if the Leafs started employing ring card girls during the intermissions at the ACC?

The Sens and Leafs are Canada's version of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. I'm just surprised that no one's standing outside the Corel Centre selling "Leafs Suck" T-shirts like they do outside Fenway Park admonishing their hated rival with the Hoover vacuum reference. The Yankees, like the Leafs, also have the same victorious track record against their hated opponent when it comes to playoff matchups, most recently coming in this year's ALCS. The comparison between baseball and hockey's top rivalry doesn't stop there.

The Yankees and Leafs have a universal bond; both are despised with incredible distaste outside of their loyal fan bases. The Yankees because of their big salary and recent reel of championship victories over the past decade. The venom aimed at Toronto substantiates in Canada because of the Leafs constant ability to be the focus of the media's spotlight. TSN (The Sports Network) is often referred to as the Toronto Sports Network because of all the coverage the Buds get; they're the Jackson family of Canadian sports. This is of course is the same city that coined the phrase "The Centre of the Universe" as their unofficial city slogan.

	He may be the only one underestimating the magnitude of this rivalry.

Even if Sens head coach Jacques Martin doesn't want to admit it, the Sens-Leafs feud has surpassed the Flames-Oilers & Avs-Wings as the most entertaining and intense rivalry in the NHL. Asked whether or not the rivalry ranks as the best in the league, Martin gave a diplomatic answer, "Oh, I don't know about the no. 1 rivalry. It's difficult to compare when you're not with other teams. But it's definitely a rivalry." I guess the influence of all the politicians in Ottawa has rubbed off on the Senators coach including the motto "Don't rock the boat." Leafs coach Pat Quinn has a little different perspective on it all: "Is there hatred, real hatred here? I wouldn't disagree with that one bit." The differing outlook from the coaches on the series is kind of like a relationship gone sour; one side doesn't realize how bad its actually gotten, while the other person is already spreading rumours about their ex. Martin can't let himself get played like that.

The fate of the playoff draw and the performance of the Senators in the post-season will determine if Ottawa wants to play the year-long role of rival or if they would instead prefer to continue relinquishing the rival role in the regular season and play the role of contender in the playoffs.

The distinction in semantics could mean the difference of winning hockey's Holy Grail.