The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are facing one another in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 21 years, and it was the host Maple Leafs making a statement early and often.
The Leafs cruised to a 6-2 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena, setting the tone for the series with a convincing victory and now finding themselves only three wins away from advancing to the second round of the postseason.
Aside from their 2023 Round 1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto’s series victory over Ottawa in 2004 remains the only time in 21 years they’ve advanced past the opening round of the playoffs.
3 Senators Who Disappointed During Game 1 Loss to Maple Leafs
1) Linus Ullmark
The Senators made a blockbuster trade last summer, swapping the disappointing Joonas Korpisalo to the Boston Bruins in return for Linus Ullmark; they then locked him up to a multi-year extension.
Making his first start in the Stanley Cup playoffs as a member of the Senators, Ullmark didn’t impress.
He was victimized six times on the 24 shots that he faced, finishing the game with a subpar .750 save percentage. If the Senators have any chance of winning the series, they’ll need far better goaltending from Ullmark.
2) Nick Jensen
It was not an encouraging postseason debut for the first-year Senators defenseman, who was acquired in the offseason from the Washington Capitals in return for Jakob Chychrun.
Nick Jensen was caught out of position multiple times against the Maple Leafs, finishing with a -2 rating, which was tied for the worst among all Leafs defensemen.
Jensen also contributed nothing offensively while committing a giveaway.
3) Thomas Chabot
Just like Jensen, it was a rough night for Thomas Chabot on the defensive end.
He also finished with a -2 rating, tied with Jensen for the worst among all Senators defensemen. Additionally, he was called out by former Senators defenseman Marc Methot for being too passive during the first period, which led to a Maple Leafs goal.
Tough first goal for Ottawa to give up. Chabot a little too passive backing up in the neutral zone. Could have stepped up on Jarnkrok near the ozone blue line.
All it takes is that slight hesitation for the Leafs to end up with an easy middle ice entry. No Bueno. https://t.co/fIEPHBo1sk— Marc Methot (@MarcMethot3) April 20, 2025
The Maple Leafs Took It to Ottawa Early and Often
The Maple Leafs announced their presence early and often over the Senators, taking a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mitch Marner; the Senators halved the lead with a tally from Drake Batherson.
However, Toronto pulled away in the game’s middle frame with power-play goals from both John Tavares and William Nylander; they took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission.
While Ottawa’s Ridly Greig made the score more respectable with an early third-period goal, Toronto scored twice more thanks to Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies.
Making his first postseason start as a member of the Maple Leafs, Anthony Stolarz stopped 31 shots on the 33 that Ottawa fired his way.