It’s Game Day!
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators continue their first-round series tonight with Game 4 of the Battle of Ontario. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.
Game 3 had a lot of the same feel as Game 2. The big difference was that Ottawa scored first, giving them their first lead of the series. They held onto it for part of the second period before the Maple Leafs tied it up 1-1 late in the frame. Overall, Game 3 was probably the best game of the series so far, with both teams elevating their play and making it a tight, physical battle.
In the third, Mitch Marner picked up a bounce off the end boards and made a slick between-the-legs pass out front to Auston Matthews, who buried it past Linus Ullmark to make it 2-1. Toronto then locked things down, holding Ottawa without a shot for nearly 13 minutes—until Brady Tkachuk, once again, scored on the Sens’ first shot of the period to tie it 2-2. Things opened up a bit after that, but the game went to overtime for the second night in a row.
Related: 2 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 OT Win Over the Senators in Game 3
Remember the heroes from Game 2? Max Domi ripped one past Ullmark off a pass from Simon Benoit. Well, Benoit got his moment in Game 3. After Matthews won the draw, Benoit stepped into a slap shot and beat Ullmark to win it, giving the Leafs a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Series Record: 3-0
Top 5 Scorers:
- Mitch Marner: 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
- Auston Matthews: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- John Tavares: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
- William Nylander: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- Morgan Rielly: 2 G, A, 2 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz: 3-0, 1.95 GAA, .926 SV%
Ottawa Senators
Series Record: 0-3
Top 5 Scorers:
- Claude Giroux: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Brady Tkachuk: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P
- Tyler Kelvin: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P
- Drake Batherson: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
- David Perron: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
Goalie Stats:
- Linus Ullmark: 0-3, 3.91 GAA, .815 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 4 Prediction
I’ve been relatively close predicting the scores of the games. But unfortunately, I haven’t been right yet. In Game 4, the Maple Leafs have a very good chance to sweep the series and get more rest in-between the first and second round. Toronto will look to end it tonight and that will bring a certain amount of energy to the lineup. As for the Senators, they will be looking to stay alive in this series, so they will bring their A game to keep their season alive.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub
In Game 4, I’m going with the Maple Leafs winning. I think the game will be close until late in the third period with Toronto leading and that will be when Ottawa will get caught running around and trying to finish hits. Which is when the Maple Leafs will pull away and will win 4-1.
