Is this rivalry strictly bc their rebuilds are roughly on the same timeline/they have been competing for the same playoff spot? Or is there some animosity stemming from in-game incidents?
the fact that they are both trying desperately to end their respective "rebuilds" and both want to end their playoff droughts is part of it, but there are other storylines too
-2 seasons ago the Wings were pushing for a playoff spot, and then got absolutely embarrassed on back to back nights by Ottawa, thus somewhat transforming the Wings from buyers to sellers in 48 hours. I live in Ottawa, and am a diehard Wings fan, so those games were tough to watch live, and a bunch of Sens fans gave it to me those games. Tkachuk challenged the entire team (unfortunetely nobody on the Wings did anything), and yeah, the Sens pretty much ended our playoff chase and embaressed us on back to back nights.
there are other things too..like DeBrincat leaving Ottawa for Detroit. Then the Mathieu Joseph "questionable" collision that knocked Larkin unconscious. Both fanbases have gone after each other on this site, so neither team loves the fans of the other squad. For me personally, it's fun being a Wings fan in Ottawa at the moment, and I would love to meet in a playoff series one day. Last year, the Wings seemed to be "ahead" in the rebuild, but this year Ottawa has been hands down the better team. But yeah, a playoff series between these teams would be great, but both teams need to figure out how to make the playoffs, or we may never get it.