The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features 16 teams in eight best-of-7 series, which start Saturday. Today, NHL.com previews the Eastern Conference First Round between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.
(1A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators
Maple Leafs: 52-26-4, 108 points
Senators: 45-30-7, 97 points
Season series: TOR: 0-3-0; OTT: 3-0-0
Game 1: Sunday at Toronto (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS)
The Maple Leafs and Senators have gone 21 years since the previous Stanley Cup Playoff edition of the Battle of Ontario.
From 2000-04, these two provincial rivals met in the postseason four times in five seasons, with the Maple Leafs winning each time. As such, Toronto's all-time record in postseason games against Ottawa is 16-8.
The last of those meetings came in the 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which Toronto won in seven games. No one at the time could have guessed that the Maple Leafs would win just one playoff series in the next 21 years, that coming in six games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round in 2023.
More than two decades later, the two teams meet again after the Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division. It is the first time in 25 years the Maple Leafs finished atop their division in a full season, having previously done it in 1999-2000 when they were still playing in the then-Northeast Division. They did also win the all-Canadian North Division during the shortened 2020-21 season, which was truncated due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Much of the credit has to go to coach Craig Berube, who replaced Sheldon Keefe last year and immediately implemented a north-south defensive style that seems to be paying dividends.
"You're always trying to work on your identity," Berube said. "And that hasn't stopped throughout the season.
"I think our guys have done a good job of it. So yeah, I think we're in a good spot, but we've got to keep making sure we're pounding away at it and keep working on it and be ready to go."
While the Maple Leafs are making their ninth consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Senators are in the postseason for the first time since 2017 when they lost in double overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
In his first season as Senators coach, former Maple Leafs forward Travis Green has done an outstanding job of making Ottawa a much more difficult team to play against. Part of the credit for that must go to goaltender Linus Ullmark, who went 25-14-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average and .910 save percentage after being acquired from the Boston Bruins for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on June 24.
Ullmark's presence brings much-needed experience to a young team led by forwards Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, who will each be playing in the postseason for the first time.
"This core group hasn't experienced this. I'm really excited for them," Senators general manager Steve Staios said. "The playoffs are a different animal. I believe that our group has the mettle to be able to rise up to that occasion.
"We're coming in as underdogs. … And we're OK with that."
Game breakers
Maple Leafs: Forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander are legitimate choices here but the pick is Mitch Marner. The 27-year-old was Toronto's MVP this year, finishing fifth in NHL scoring with 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists). It's his versatility that makes him the most dangerous to the opposition. How many players lead their respective teams in power play points (33), finish third in game-winning goals (seven) and are tied for the most short-handed points (two) like Marner did this season? He plays the point and serves as the quarterback on the power play, regularly kills penalties, is often out on the ice in the final minute when the Maple Leafs are protecting a one-goal lead, and even saw shifts on defense this season.
