The Battle of Ontario is set to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 21 years when Toronto Maple Leafs hosted Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of the first round series of their Eastern Conference on Sunday.
Ottawa dropped Maple Leafs 3–0 during the regular season, but 11 points behind Toronto in Standing.
“We are going against some of the world’s best players,” said Brady Takachuk, the team captain and the leading goal scorer for Ottawa. “This is something that you dream about, and we have the opportunity to come to it on Sunday.”
The senator should be with full force after Tkachuk returns to the end of the regular-season after recalling the last eight matches with upper body injury.
Tkachuk is in its seventh season in NHL, but is yet to play in a postsen game.
“These were seven long years, but it feels good that it looks good,” said Takachuk. “Now, for us, it is great and terrible to check the box and reach the playoffs, but there is more that we want to complete.”
Figures of high intensity between teams located over 270 miles.
Ottawa last appeared in the playoffs in 2017 and made it all the way in the final of the Eastern Conference before losing seven matches for Pittsburgh Penguin.
This season, the senators ended at the lower three in the Atlantic division in the next seven sessions before claiming the first wild card from the Eastern Conference.
“Looking back, I am glad that everything has happened because everything happens for a reason,” said Takachuk. “It sets this moment, and this phase, I am able to share it with all the peers that have gone through that struggle and difficult time. It’s going to be a special experience.”
Maple Leafs has created a playoffs for the ninth straight season, but they have excluded it only once in that period.
Toronto won their last five matches to end the regular session, which matched the streak of their longest victory of the season.
Maple leafs were under stretch without two of their top defensemen due to upper-body injuries.
Jake McKebe missed the last seven matches and Oliver Ekman-Larsen missed the last four. Toronto coach Craig Beerub said on Saturday that McKebe would play in Game 1, but Ekman-Larsen would be a game-day decision.
Behub did not confirm that Anthony Stolarz would begin at the target, but he spoke highly to the Stolarz, who led NHL with .926 saved percentage.
“He has experience in the playoffs,” said Bearub. “He did not start, but he has experience to stay there and see it. As I said, he is around for some time. We have a great year, like both our goals, so he has played very well this year and so he is ready to go.”
Veteran Ottawa Netminder Linus Ulmark, who posted the same savings percentage (2.72) as a backup Anton Formsberg, is expected to start an opener after a 25-win regular session in 44 performances. The 2023 Vagina Trophy winner also had a .910 percent percentage this season.
Special teams depicted to play a major role in the series.
The senators played the 12th best power during the regular session and Toronto was ninth.
During the regular season, Tkachuk had 14 power-play goals and Drake Batherson had 13, but Tim Stutzal also draws a lot of whistles.
“We saw a lot on him and talked a lot about it,” Berub said. “We have become disciplined, but you can’t be either temporary.”
Aggressively, Toronto is headed by Mich Marnar (102 points, fifth in NHL), William Nilander (84 points) and Captain Auston Matthew (78 points). Nilender finished second at NHL with 45 goals and Marnar finished third in assistance with 75.
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