It’s Game Day!
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators continue their first-round series tonight with Game 3 of the Battle of Ontario. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.
After the Maple Leafs dominated in Game 1 and won 6-2, many in Leafs Nation thought Game 2 would be just as easy. And honestly, in the first 10 minutes of the first period, it looked like it was going to be. Toronto jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and had full control. But once the first ended, the Senators settled in. They started getting more offensive zone time and nearly doubled Toronto’s shot attempts. As a result, they were able to claw back and tie it 2-2, sending it to overtime.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 OT Win Over the Senators
In the extra frame, Max Domi and Simon Benoit made something happen on what looked like a dead 2-on-4 rush. Domi ripped one past Linus Ullmark for the 3-2 OT win, giving the Leafs a 2-0 series lead. Now the series shifts to Ottawa, where the Maple Leafs won’t have last change.
It’ll be interesting to see if they come into Game 3 looking to take full control and set up a potential closeout in Game 4 on Saturday. Or, will they let their foot off the gas and allow the Senators to claw back in, turning it into a long series?
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Series Record: 2-0
Top 5 Scorers:
- John Tavares: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
- Mitch Marner: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- Auston Matthews: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P
- William Nylander: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Morgan Rielly: 2 G, A, 2 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz: 2-0, 1.95 GAA, .934 SV%
Ottawa Senators
Series Record: 0-2
Top 5 Scorers:
- David Perron: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
- Ridley Greig: 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
- Drake Batherson: 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
- Tim Stutzle: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
- Brady Tkachuk: 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
Goalie Stats:
- Linus Ullmark: 0-2, 4.39 GAA, .800 SV%
Projected Lineups
There are just projections, these lineups are subject to change before the drop of the puck.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg – John Tavares – William Nylander
Calle Jarnkrok – Scott Laughton – Steven Lorentz
Max Pacioretty – Max Domi – Bobby McMann
Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly – Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
Scratched: David Kampf, Nick Robertson, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Artur Akhtyamov
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stutzle — Claude Giroux
Fabian Zetterlund — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
David Perron — Adam Gaudette — Nick Cousins
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven — Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic, Matthew Highmore
Game 3 Prediction
After my Game 1 prediction nearly hit the mark, I tried to double down with a big Maple Leafs victory (4-1) in Game 2. Unfortunately, the game was a lot closer than I predicted it would be. Therefore, in Game 3, I’m going to go with a bit of a closer game.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub
In Game 3, I’m going with the Maple Leafs winning, but it’ll be a close game, so, give me Toronto beating the Senators 2-1.
