Maple Leafs' stars, supporting cast, Stolarz shine in Game 1 romp over Senators
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For the Maple Leafs to shine in playoffs, the stars must come out and the lesser planets align.
Well, the skies looked very promising to open a post-season tournament where success is so essential to this Toronto roster’s future.
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Maple Leafs' stars, supporting cast, Stolarz shine in Game 1 romp over Senators Back to video
Not only did the Core Four rack up nine points in a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Easter Sunday at Scotiabank Arena, the Leafs showed both the poise on defence and big saves lacking each spring since 2018. As well, a team that had lost five of their past six Game 1s and had trouble getting beyond two goals in recent April games notched three on the power play alone, tripling last year’s output in a first-round loss to Boston.
On the 21st anniversary of the Leafs eliminating Ottawa for the fourth and final time in a five-year window that solidified this rivalry in provincial puck consciousness, this was not an omen the Sens needed. But there were 86 hits in all, 56 by the visitors.
“It was intense” Toronto centre John Tavares said after late-game scrums broke out. “They call it the Battle of Ontario for a reason. There were a lot of things we did that put us in a good spot to get the result we wanted.
“But as the series develops (Game 2 is here Tuesday), we have to continue to improve.”
The Leafs couldn’t have gained their comfort zone without big saves through 40 minutes from Anthony Stolarz. They included a Brady Tkachuk breakaway off a Morgan Rielly fumble where the sparkplug Ottawa captain had nowhere to shoot at but Stolarz’s large Leaf logo. There was another point-blank power-play stop soon after on Fabian Zetterlund as part of 31 saves.
The crowd of 19,072, which quickly found its playoff voice and cheered every Toronto hit, got to let loose when the fourth line helped produce the opening goal.
“The energy, the excitement and a great rivalry,” Tavares said. “We want to keep feeding off them.”
Scott Laughton spotted Oliver Ekman-Larsson jumping into the play and the defencemen snapped a low wrister as goalie Linus Ullmark was a bit slow to react.
The roar increased when Auston Matthews sent Mitch Marner in for a breakaway deke, while the tight play of Toronto in its own zone right after was beginning to frustrate Ottawa. Fans took up a very loud “Brady sucks” chant for the only member of the Tkachuk family yet to make his NHL playoff mark.
However, Stolarz and company couldn’t corral a rebound that Drake Batherson knocked in before the period ended.
“That’s a good team over there, they’ve earned every right to be in the playoffs,” reminded Toronto coach Craig Berube after the morning skate. “A lot of good players over there who play a disciplined-style game.”
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But there was no trepidation in Toronto’s approach to the middle period, punctuated by two of the three power-play goals that helped erase the memory of a dismal 1-for-21 showing last spring.
After Tim Stutzle boarded Laughton, John Tavares buried his own deflection rebound of a William Nylander shot. Then on a 5-on-3 after consecutive cross-checking penalties, Tavares won a draw to Nylander.
Ottawa coach Travis Green felt the Leafs sold the referees on a couple of calls, but his club obviously intended to hit the Leafs as hard they did in winning all three regular season matches.
After Matthews assisted on a Matthew Knies goal with the extra man, each member of the Core Four had recorded multiple-point games in the same playoff contest for just the third time since 2019.
When Ridly Greig got the Sens within two goals in the third, Rielly banked a long-range wrister off an Ottawa stick and Knies added the final power-play dagger.
Ottawa is full marks for making the playoffs after eight years, but the Leafs have been re-tooling all year for this stage with two all-stars among the Core Four, the league’s minimum-appearance save percentage leader in Stolarz, three members of the 2024 Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers and two veteran trade-deadline acquisitions.
“We were physical, they were, too, and we did a good job controlling our emotions,” Berube said. “I said it was going to be a battle — and it was.”
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