Forward core powers Maple Leafs in Game 1 win against Senators

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs came into the latest edition of the Battle of Ontario having scored two goals or fewer in 13 of their past 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Given the fact that basically half of Toronto’s NHL salary cap space is dedicated to four forwards -- Auston Matthews ($13.25 million average annual value), William Nylander ($11.5 million AAV), John Tavares ($11 million AAV) and Mitch Marner ($10.9 million AAV) -- who are being paid to score goals and put up points, the Maple Leafs so-called Core Four simply hadn’t lived up to expectations, especially when it mattered most.

For one night, anyway, all of that changed.

One-off or trend? It’s too early to say.

This much is certain: The offensive explosion by Toronto’s so-called big boys in a 6-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday was a long time coming.

“They were dialed in,” said goalie Anthony Stolarz, who could make the same claim about himself after his 31-save performance.

Of course, none of Stolarz’s stops -- and none was bigger than the one on Senators captain Brady Tkachuk early in the second period with the Maple Leafs holding a 2-1 lead -- would have mattered had Toronto not finally found a way to light up the postseason scoreboard.

Marner led the way with three points (one goal, two assists), while Nylander and Tavares each had a goal and an assist. Matthews also had two assists. In the end, Toronto had six different players score a goal and eight different players earn an assist.

Here’s how much of a big deal that is.

On April 24, 2023, the Maple Leafs busted out for five goals in a 5-4 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. In their subsequent 14 postseason games, the only time they exceeded two goals was a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their first round series on April 22, 2024.

Part of the reason for Toronto’s success on this night could be attributed to the at-times wobbly goaltending of Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark, who was beaten six times on 24 shots.

That still wasn’t enough for Senators coach Travis Green to lose confidence in his guy.

“I like our goalie a lot,” Green said matter-of-factly when asked about Ullmark’s shaky night.

Opinions might vary on Ullmark’s performance, but there is no denying he’ll have to be significantly better moving forward for Ottawa to get back in the series, beginning in Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2,CBC, SN, TVAS).

When asked about what the key was to get his top forwards going, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube simply shrugged his shoulders. Playoffs or no playoffs, it’s still a simple game, a message he constantly drives into his team.

“Offensively, yeah, they just played,” he said. “We talked about how the intensity rises up in the playoffs and all this other stuff, but in the end they just got to go play.”

They did exactly that, and at a high level too, although Marner said the offensive outburst guarantees nothing.

“I don’t think we think of it that way,” he said when asked if the six-goal output instilled confidence in the Core Four. “I think we just look at it as wins, and just to start off with a win is great.”

But …

“It’s going to be even harder to win the next one,” Marner said. "And we’re going to have to figure out how to be a little bit better.”

Tavares agreed.

“I mean, scoring is always great and is a good sign of things, but whatever the game requires and whatever is needed the most is the most important thing,” he said. “So, whether that’s winning 1-0 or having a night like we did tonight where we were able to create a lot of chances and finish our chances, we’ll do whatever it takes to earn the next one.”

Whatever the case, racking up a half dozen goals certainly helps, especially for a team that’s had postseason scoring issues in the past.