The Maple Leafs fought back multiple times in this Game 4 and created a collection of chances to end the series, but they couldn’t get over the hump against a desperate Senators team.

Now, we will see how they handle some adversity as the series heads back to Toronto. 

Your game in 10:

1.   The game started with a tweak from the Senators, who flipped Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens’ spots in the lineup to shake up their looks and matchups. It meant that John Tavares was now matching up against Cozens, while Scott Laughton was seeing Stutzle for most of the night. It was a reasonable attempt at altering the matchups by Travis Green, and with their season on the line, the Senators came out flying.

The Leafs, on the other hand, did not. This was far and away their worst start to a game this series, and while I’ll stop short of suggesting maybe they thought this would be easy up 3-0, they didn’t look ready to do what is required to win playoff games. The Senators were physical on the forecheck, and the Leafs didn’t match it whatsoever.

By the time the period ended, shot attempts at five-on-five were 27-12 for the Senators, even if actual shots were 10-9 for the Senators. The Senators created the best look early on a cross-ice pass to David Perron backdoor, where he got a good one-timer off, but the shot was blocked (Craig Simpson believed it would have been offside). I don’t think the Senators’ line change had anything to do with it; Laughton was actually up 7-0 against Stutzle in shot attempts through regulation. It had everything to do with the Leafs‘  unreadiness to start the game. 

2.   Amidst a middling start in a game against an opponent down 3-0 in the series, you don’t want to give a team on its last legs free life. Max Domi did just that, taking a penalty before the puck was even dropped.

In Domi’s defense, a few things are worth flagging about the sequence. As is the case all season long, the linesman refused to drop the puck. This sideshow, where they pump fake multiple times and then throw players out of the dot, needs to be addressed. If the puck was dropped, there’s no penalty here.

The second point is that Pinto snapped his head back so hard he might be suffering from whiplash. Kudos to him for selling it, but ultimately, Domi shouldn’t extend his arms at him. There was no need, and the Leafs paid for it.

The power play goal itself was nothing particularly special. The Senators worked it from the point to the half-wall for a one-timer that Stolarz should’ve stopped. There was no real screen; Simon Benoit sold out on the slap pass options, and it wasn’t bar-and-in or anything special. It was just a moderately raised short-side one-timer from the top of the circle that wasn’t exactly prime Stamkos. For the second straight game, the Sens scored first.

I also wasn’t sure why Laughton wasn’t on the ice. He’s been their third penalty killer this series and is clearly one of their best overall, but they went with Jarnkrok and Knies after Matthews and Marner. The goal wasn’t on Knies, but I thought it was a curious decision.

3.  Again, the Leafs were terrible in the first period. Ottawa actively outhit them, had energy, and the Leafs were up to absolutely nothing. They were lucky it wasn’t 2-0 on a bounce from a good forecheck, and then they got a power play out of it — a perfect opportunity to swing the game after a relatively lacklustre start.

Instead, the Leafs gave up a shorthanded breakaway goal. Mitch Marner will receive a lot of attention for getting burned on the pinch, but Auston Matthews should have been supporting the whole time and instead took himself completely out of the play, even though the Leafs never held possession. The goal visualizer on NHL.com provides a much better view of it:

The Leafs were in a 2v2 battle on the wall and clearly did not have possession of any kind. Marner and Matthews are lined up as defensemen at this point, and when the puck went up the wall, even if Marner lost it on a chip out, if Matthews was supporting, he simply would’ve collected that puck off the wall. It would’ve been a total nothing play. Instead, Matthews drifted to the backside even though the Leafs didn’t possess the puck at any point, and when Pinto was shooting his goal in on Stolarz, Matthews wasn’t even in the zone.

I don’t love the decision from Marner, either, and technically, he was the last man back. But Matthews offered zero support when it was a relatively straightforward sequence (the team didn’t have the puck, and he’s the backside support).

4.   Ottawa nearly extended the lead to three late in the period as a point shot deflected to the far post and Zetterlund had a look with as much net available as you can have against the 6’7 Stolarz. I’m not sure if the shot would have gone in — it’s tough to tell from the viewing angle — but Morgan Rielly was right there and blocked it. It turned out to be a huge swing in the game.

On the next shift, Jake McCabe sent a nice soft chip into the zone, and Tavares skated in and won a big battle on the forecheck (with support from Pontus Holmberg). Tavares brought the puck up the boards and dropped it off to McCabe, who cut low and ripped a pass through the Sens zone. It went far side to Tanev, who trickled down to the far side half-wall as he switched with William Nylander, who pulled high to the middle of the point.

Nylander has been dangerous from the top of the point for many years now, and Tanev got him the puck. Nylander sold his shot with tons of bodies in front before ripping a dart of a pass through traffic and right on Tavares’ tape at the backdoor for a tap-in that Ullmark never even moved on. It was a beautiful pass by Nylander and a well-earned goal for Tavares after he dug in on the forecheck and drove the net hard.

Suddenly, the Leafs’ worst period of the series ended at a score of just 2-1.

5.    At the end of the first period, Benoit and Brady Tkachuk went at it. Tkachuk attempted to land a big hit on Benoit, who stood in there well and threw his weight right back at the Senators’ captain. It led to a scrum and coincidentals, so the second period started at 4v4, and the Leafs started to build some looks.

Their best 4v4 look came from a Nylander cross-ice pass to Tanev, who had time and space to walk in and put a good shot on net. When five-on-five rolled around, the Laughton line put together a great cycle shift where Lorentz made a strong cut-in move, but he just lost the handle. The Tavares line generated a good shift in which Nylander found Holmberg in the high slot for a one-timer, but his stick broke.

At the end of that shift, Tavares tried to gain the zone and was checked from behind by Nick Cousins, who got the best of him, and Tavares tripped him. That marks a second straight needless penalty by the Leafs (one in the offensive zone, one before the puck even dropped).

The Leafs faced a huge kill, and this time they came through. Matthews and Marner were really good on it as Ottawa generated nothing save for a backdoor try that Tanev tipped wide. Marner had a chance to chip it out and maybe create a scoring chance, forcing Sanderson into an interference penalty and leading to 4v4 hockey.

With the Leafs keeping their top unit ready for the power play, it was interesting that they put out Holmberg and McMann for the 4v4 offensive-zone faceoff rather than Domi. It speaks to Domi’s general play in this series, overtime winner aside. On that shift, Tkachuk hit the post. When the Leafs went on the power play, they created one decent jam look in front, but that was about it.

6.   Halfway through the period, the game appeared to be settling in. The Senators didn’t have the same adrenaline and weren’t getting pucks in deep consistently anymore or finishing hard hits, while the Leafs started stringing together some plays and slowly taking over.

The Leafs were eventually rewarded with the tying goal, but it didn’t come from dominating play; it came from a counterattack. The Leafs have really frustrated Ottawa with their ability to block shots in this series, and this was yet another example. On a pretty good shift from the Sens, they worked the puck to the point, where Sanderson passed it to Zub, who thought he had a clear shot on net opportunity. Matthews boxed out well in front — and probably isn’t getting enough credit here — and ultimately blocked the shot. Marner supported and batted it up, and from there, Matthew Knies took over.

Knies flipped the puck up ice and used his speed to leave Zub in his dust. It wasn’t like Zub tried to make it a skating contest, either; he actively tried to run interference, and Knies powered right through like the tank that he is. Once he got by Zub, Knies had a clean breakaway against Ullmark and made a good forehand, backhand, forehand move before shelving the shot with authority. 

A beautiful finish gave Knies his third goal of the series in just four games.

7.   The Senators finished the second period with one shot on net (plus that Tkachuk post, although it came at 4v4), and by the time regulation was over, they recorded just three five-on-five shots on net in the final 40 minutes of regulation. However, in the third period, down a goal, they made a push and controlled play repeatedly, eventually taking the lead seven and a half minutes into the period.

Following a really good Nylander look in the slot off the rush off a Holmberg pick, the Senators moved up ice, and the Leafs suffered a surprising breakdown in transition courtesy of Chris Tanev. He drifted too far to the middle of the ice, leaving Perron a ton of space down his side. Perron took a pass, had a step on Tanev, drove the net, and got a backhander off the rush. Stolarz saved it, but the rebound kicked out, and Gaudette was first on it. Gaudette spun and found the trailing defenseman, who was all by himself after Nylander and Holmberg changed off. Zub made a nice pass to Perron, who circled the net and tapped it in.

If Tanev managed his gap better, the play never happens. He rarely makes mistakes like this, and the domino effect played out from there. Once again, the Leafs were down in the game.

8.    Down a goal, the Leafs finally moved Bobby McMann up to the second line with Tavares and Nylander, and they were instantly more dangerous as McMann and Tavares drove the net on a down-low sequence and almost banged home a rebound.

The Pacioretty-Domi-Holmberg line almost scored shortly after. Domi centered a pass to Holmberg, who chipped it over to Pacioretty on the backside, where he batted the puck; it was likely going in, but Tyler Kleven knocked it out of midair to save a goal. It should also be noted that Benoit threw an absolutely massive hit during this segment.

A few minutes later, the Leafs scored anyway. McMann gained the zone off the rush and dropped it to Tavares, who cut in with a dangerous look that got poked to the point. McCabe collected the puck and passed it to Nylander on the half-wall, who bought some time as OEL snuck away from coverage at the backdoor. Nylander threaded a great pass through that Oliver Ekman-Larsson easily one-timed home.

It’s the Leafs’ fifth goal by a defenseman this series after just 21 all season, the lowest mark in the league. Kudos to the Leafs’ defense for playing the long con.

9.   Neither team created much of anything the rest of regulation, save for a Steven Lorentz chance in the slot right after the Leafs tied it, and another good shift from that line to end regulation where they just couldn’t get pucks through.

In overtime, it again started at the Leafs’ pace, but a big play happened away from the puck. Artem Zub got an elbow up on Tavares, catching him in the head. It went uncalled. The Leafs had good zone time going while Tavares was lying in the middle of the ice. It was an egregious missed call, and Tavares left the game.

It was particularly significant after the Leafs went to a four-minute power play for a Batherson high stick with Tavares unavailable for the five-forward top unit. In Tavares’ absence, the coaching staff decided to pop Morgan Rielly in there, which was a mistake. Not only was Rielly poor on it — giving it away multiple times — but Marner, Matthews, and Nylander all looked completely confused about where to go. They actually bumped into each other at points. I would have used McMann as a bumper for the sake of keeping the other players in their proper spots, even though the unit gave up a shorthanded goal earlier.

The power play did create a few looks, the most notable of which was a Matthews rebound that Ullmark just got a toe on, and a Matthews one-timer. But it wasn’t sharp overall. The Tavares absence was massive, although he did return to the game later on.

10.   While the Leafs generally controlled play in overtime, ultimately, when you don’t score on a four-minute power play, you are playing with fire. The Leafs got burned.

There was no huge breakdown on the goal itself; it was a backhand off the rush that went wide, and then the puck went to the point, where Sanderson just flung it to the net, and it got through Stolarz. McMann and Tavares did have a bit of an awkward exchange at the point in terms of who would cover Sanderson, preventing them from getting in the shooting lane. When Knies scored, it was off a point shot block, an area where the Leafs have been excellent in the series. They didn’t block this one, and Stolarz couldn’t fight through it.

With the power-play and OT time, Rielly played nearly 31 minutes in this game. McCabe was second among defensemen with 27:12 as he and Tanev were excellent (and both picked up points on separate goals). Nylander led their forwards with six shots on net, picked up two great assists, and was the Leafs’ most dangerous forward all night.

Matthews was held off the scoresheet for the first time this series and will likely get a lot of earned scrutiny; it’s just one game, but he has largely been ~good this series, when his bar is set at great.

Pacioretty played a team-low 14:03, so the Leafs did roll their lines as much as they could, but it will always circle back to the top players. Back to Toronto.

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Game Highlights w/ Joe Bowen & Jim Ralph

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