Toronto — Mitch Marner (No. 16) of the Maple Leafs found the back of the net against Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark (No. 35) in the first period of Sunday night’s NHL playoff game, held in Toronto on April 20, 2025. Photo credit: Nick Iwanyshyn / The Canadian Press
The Ottawa Senators returned to the NHL playoffs for the first time in eight years on Sunday night—but their long-awaited comeback didn’t go as planned. The Toronto Maple Leafs took full advantage of Ottawa’s sloppy performance, skating away with a dominant 6-2 victory in the opening game of their first-round playoff series at Scotiabank Arena.
Ottawa’s night unravelled due to a mix of careless penalties, lacklustre goaltending, and a poor showing on the penalty kill. Head coach Travis Green acknowledged his team’s missteps, saying, “We definitely have to stay out of the box.” While Green suggested a few calls may have been questionable, he didn’t shy away from the bigger issue: the Senators gave Toronto far too many chances with the man advantage.
Toronto made Ottawa pay, scoring on three of their six power-play chances. Goalie Linus Ullmark had a rough outing, letting in four goals on the first 10 shots he faced. However, his defence didn’t help much—many of the Leafs’ chances came from wide-open looks. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander found open space in the slot to score, Mitch Marner struck on a breakaway, and John Tavares cleaned up his own rebound for another.
The Maple Leafs didn’t let up. Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies added insurance goals in the third, including one on the power play, sealing the win. Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk kept it simple: “We took too many penalties... that's on us.”
Despite the loss, the Senators showed flashes of promise. Drake Batherson scored late in the first period, pouncing on a rebound to close the gap to 2-1. Early in the second, Tkachuk and Shane Pinto each had golden chances to tie the game, but Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz made timely saves to keep them out. “Timely saves are huge, especially in the playoffs,” said Leafs coach Craig Berube.
Ottawa’s troubles started early. Tim Stutzle took a boarding penalty just minutes into the game, and Toronto scored nine seconds into the power play. Then, Ridly Greig delivered an unnecessary cross-check, and the Leafs capitalized again. The mistakes kept coming—Batherson tripped Nylander late in the second, and even though that penalty was killed, the Senators never found their rhythm.
Greig gave Ottawa brief hope with a goal in the third on a delayed penalty, cutting the deficit to 4-2. But the Leafs answered almost instantly, and with Batherson off for another cross-check, Knies buried one more to put the game out of reach.
Ottawa did outshoot Toronto 33-24, but that stat rang hollow in a game where self-inflicted wounds proved too much to overcome. With the series at 1-0, the Senators now look to bounce back on Tuesday before heading home for Games 3 and 4 later in the week.
Although Ottawa swept Toronto during the regular season, Sunday night’s showing was a wake-up call. They’ll need a much more disciplined effort to turn things around.
