The pair of gritty forwards are beloved in Ottawa for their antics and hard-nosed play.

“Pest” is thrown around by Ottawa Senators fans these days as a term of endearment.

If you hear it walking around the Canadian Tire Centre, chances are people are talking about two players: Nick Cousins and Ridly Greig.

The former has been getting under the skin of opponents for 13 National Hockey League seasons, relishing the visceral reactions he triggers. Cousins has heard about his punchable face, and he’s proud of it. A great number of his 727 NHL games and counting have been earned because of the role he has carved out.

You’re not supposed to like playing against him.

Proud, too, is the 33-year-old of his young teammate, Greig, who shares the same passion for provocation.

“I think he’s my favourite player in the whole, entire league,” Cousins said in between home games on Friday morning. “I tell him that a lot.”

Greig may have picked up a few things from Cousins in their two-plus seasons together, but he was a devoted agitator long before they met. Even when the Senators selected him 28th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, his reputation was almost identical to what it is today.

“There’s no scrum Greig won’t join,” Mitchell Brown, Elite Prospects’ head of scouting, wrote a week before that draft. “And, if there isn’t one, he creates one.”

While the Senators’ opening two games of the 2026-27 regular season went about as well as one would hope — minus losing defenceman Jake Sanderson to a lower-body injury — there was a certain element missing with Greig sitting up in the press box, serving a two-game suspension.

In his first game back, on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings, Greig didn’t waste time in getting back to his old tricks. He threw a clean, hard reverse hit on an unsuspecting Alex DeBrincat in the dying seconds of the second period. Dylan Larkin took exception. A line brawl broke out.

As Larkin was being escorted off the ice following the quintet of disagreements, Cousins felt compelled to insert himself into the situation, mocking the former Detroit captain by gesturing to rip an imaginary ‘C’ off of his own jersey.

Senators head coach Travis Green admitted the interaction was worthy of a laugh when he saw the video clip after the game.

“There’s lots that goes on during the game that a lot of people don’t see,” Green said Friday. “Obviously, that game was magnified with it being Dylan Larkin’s first game back, and there’s a lot of trash talk that happens during the game, so it’s not surprising to me. Every once in a while, I get a chuckle out of things, and sometimes there’s things that are close to crossing the line, and that’s just part of the game.

“I think the chirping’s a lot lower now than it used to be. That’s for sure.”

While Greig and Cousins do their damnedest to keep hockey rough and rowdy, they remain important contributors for the Senators. Battling in front of the Philadelphia Flyers net on Thursday during the Sens’ home opener, Cousins created separation with defenceman Cam York and tipped in Tyler Kleven’s point shot for the game’s first goal.

Seconds after the ensuing faceoff at centre ice, Cousins baited Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov into taking a tripping penalty, messing with the Russian before ultimately selling the call.

“I think it’s been part of my game since I’ve stepped into the league,” Cousins said. “I take my fair share of penalties, too. It’s just a matter of playing on the edge, playing on the line and not crossing the line.”

Said Green: “He’s an energy guy. You like guys that bring energy, that are rambunctious. Cousy’s an annoying player to play against, but he’s a player that you like having on your team.”

The offensive expectations for Greig are considerably higher. A versatile forward who can slot into any trio in the top nine, either on the wing or at centre, Greig could very well score 20 goals soon (he’s had 13 in each of his three full NHL seasons). He’s added some speed over the past year, and he possesses underrated puck skills.

“Oh, man, he brings a lot,” Cousins said. “He brings a lot of jam, brings a lot of energy. He can make plays, he can skate. He’s on the penalty kill, can play on the power play as well. I mean, you win with those guys.

“He’s a really important player for us and, just from myself, I really admire his game. There’s stuff that he does out there that I can kind of try and implement and put into my game.”

There is a mighty cost to the life of a pest. You take some lickings, some cheap shots in return for your antics.

After throwing a questionable hit on Cousins on Monday, Boston Bruins defenceman Nikita Zadorov suckered the Ottawa forward while he was down. On Thursday, Flyers blue-liner Nick Seeler put everything he had into a cross-check to Greig’s back after a whistle.

What did they do to deserve it? It’s difficult to pinpoint just one thing. But soon after retribution is handed out — or in the midst of it — you can typically find Cousins and Greig smiling ear to ear, seemingly plotting their next shenanigan.

“We do have a little bit of similar attributes, for sure,” Cousins said. “I think he kind of embraces that kind of role, as do I. You can never have enough guys like Ridly Greig on your team.”