The Toronto Maple Leafs are officially the best team in the Atlantic Division, and they’ve clinched home ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Their opening-round opponent happens to be none other than the Ottawa Senators, whom they’ll battle in the postseason for the first time since 2004; the Senators swept the Maple Leafs in their three-game regular-season series in 2024-25.
Battle of Ontario: Maple Leafs vs. Senators Series Schedule
This spring features the Senators’ first appearance in the playoffs since their run to Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Maple Leafs have now qualified for the ninth straight season, tied for the longest current streak in the NHL.
The NHL has released the dates and the times of the opening four games of the upcoming series, along with the dates and times of any potential games that may be needed if neither club has claimed four victories by the end of Game 4 (all times in Eastern Time unless stated otherwise).
- Sunday, April 20 at 7 p.m. in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, ESPN2
- Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, ESPN2
- Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. in Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, ESPN2
- Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. in Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, TBS, truTV, Max
- Tuesday, April 29 TBD in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, TBD
- Thursday, May 1 TBD in Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, TBD
- Saturday, May 3 TBD in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, TBD
Sunday’s game on April 20 will be the first time the Maple Leafs and Senators have battled in postseason action since April 20, 2004. Veteran Maple Leafs forward Joe Nieuwendyk paced the scoring in the opening 20 minutes of play with a pair of soft goals on goaltender Patrick Lalime, who was pulled after the first period in favor of Martin Prusek.
Toronto advanced to face the Philadelphia Flyers, who eliminated them in six games.
Injury Updates for Maple Leafs and Senators
The Senators have recently played the last several games without their captain and team heart and soul, Brady Tkachuk; he hasn’t played since March 30 because of an injury.
The good news for the Senators is that Tkachuk returned to Ottawa’s lineup in time for Thursday’s regular season finale on April 17 against the Carolina Hurricanes; head coach Travis Green indicated that Tkachuk is expected to play against the Maple Leafs in Game 1 on Sunday.
“I do,” Green said on Monday, April 14, when asked if he expects Tkachuk back for Game 1. “He has to [practice]. If you want to be on top of your game after you’ve been out — he’s no different than any other player — you’ve got to come back and get some practice time.”
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have played their last handful of games without veteran defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was hurt last Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, they expect him also to be good to play in Game 1 vs. Ottawa, according to head coach Craig Berube.
“Right now, I mean, I expect [Ekman-Larsson] to play, but you never know,” Berube said on Tuesday, April 15. “He’s tough. He’ll play through things. And if he’s not in the lineup, somebody else is going to have to step up. That’s just the bottom line. That’s part of the playoffs.”
Additionally, both defenseman Jake McCabe and forward David Kampf (out since April 2) are also expected to be able to suit up in Game 1 against the Senators; the aforementioned three players were not in the lineup on Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings in their final regular-season game.
