Chris Neil had been baiting Darcy Tucker through the media over the last 48 hours, getting on him because the Leaf dropped his gloves and took on Ottawa's Patrick Eaves, a player who hasn't fought since he was a teenager, in Tuesday's game at Toronto. As they waited for the puck to drop, Neil leaned into Tucker, going almost nose-to-nose with his rival, incessantly yapping. It looked like a drill sergeant getting in the face of a young recruit. Neil's essential message was, if you have a problem with the Senators, come to me ? not a perceived lightweight like Eaves. "I asked him to fight and he didn't oblige me," Neil said later. "After that, I just went out and played hockey. I just let him know he can't be going after a guy like Patty Eaves."