After they went down 3-0 in the series, the Ottawa Senators looked like they would be the first team eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs, the top team in the Atlantic Division, were just too dominant, too skilled, and too experienced for the young Senators. But big wins in Games 4 and 5 kept the dream alive that it could swing the other way.
That dream came to an end on Thursday night. After a hard-fought game, the Senators couldn’t prevent the Maple Leafs from heading to the second round for the second time since 2004. It was a valiant effort from both teams, who made it one of the most exciting series of this season’s playoffs.
Game Recap
The Maple Leafs almost tanked their chance of closing out the series before the puck even dropped. On the game sheet, Toronto put in the wrong Nylander, listing the number 92 instead of 88, which would have placed Alex Nylander in the active lineup and William Nylander as a healthy scratch, thus making him ineligible to play. However, an eagle-eyed observer caught the mistake, preventing a massive embarrassment.
When the game started, both teams came out with a vendetta, exchanging chances back and forth. The Senators were once again highly physical, using their bodies to wear down the Maple Leafs and tire them out. On the other hand, the Maple Leafs relied on their big guns, dominating in the faceoff circle and firing pucks on Linus Ullmark whenever possible. The shots remained low in the first, but both got good chances to open the game’s scoring. Ridly Greig and Tim Stutzle had two of the best chances for Ottawa but just couldn’t get the puck behind Anthony Stolarz.
Both teams got a power play chance in the first period, with John Tavares serving the first infraction after a high stick and Brady Tkachuk sitting a few minutes later on an interference call. While both teams remained very close at even strength, Toronto’s special teams were much more dominant, expertly killing off the first penalty and capitalizing on the man advantage with a goal from Auston Matthews, putting the Maple Leafs up 1-0.
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Momentum swayed to the Maple Leafs as the second period started. Toronto owned the faceoff circle, limiting the Senators to just three wins to their 14. Less than a minute in, Nylander stole a bouncing puck and sniped it past Ullmark to put the Maple Leafs up 2-0. But the momentum didn’t stay with them for long, and with the crowd behind them, the Senators began to take back the energy. Before the midway point in the period, Thomas Chabot fired a puck on Stolarz, which Tkachuk tipped in to get Ottawa on the board. Suddenly, it looked like everything was going Ottawa’s way; they drove the net, fired pucks on, and got several more excellent chances, but just couldn’t get anything else past the Maple Leafs’ goalie.
The third period was a much more muted, grinding affair, with both teams desperate to find a gap in the other’s armour. Both teams threw big hits, blocked shots, and forced turnovers. It wasn’t until the Senators were behind the Maple Leafs’ net as yet another lacklustre power play ended that David Perron finally got a puck through, bouncing it off Stolarz’s back from an impossible angle. With less than eight minutes remaining, the game was tied.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Max Pacioretty, who hadn’t scored since Dec. 20, found an opening by Ullmark to put the Maple Leafs in the lead. The Senators pulled the goalie with the clock ticking down for the extra attacker, but Nylander found the loose puck after a blocked shot and put it in the empty net on his second attempt to end the game.
The Senators outperformed expectations in this series, making all but the first game an incredibly close contest. However, they’ll have to wait until next season to get a second chance. As for the Maple Leafs, they’ll face the Florida Panthers in Round 2.
