Exhale.

The Senators battled back in this series, and the Maple Leafs faced some adversity, but after all the criticism and demon talk, the Leafs took care of business and finished Ottawa in six games. 

Toronto’s defense tightened up. Their big guns scored big goals in a series-clinching game. Their role players provided huge moments (a massive block by Scott Laughton and a game-winning goal by Max Pacioretty). Anthony Stolarz stood tall at some critical moments. Chris Tanev — and really, most of their defensemen — were really good.

With this 4-2 Leafs victory, the Senators’ 2024-25 season is over. Still a little brother.

Your game in 10:

1.   This game started with the expected matchups. The Leafs started the night with the Auston Matthews line, and Ottawa promptly countered with the Shane Pinto checking unit.

In Game 5, I thought the Leafs were really tight to start the game. They weren’t particularly physical, there wasn’t much to their game, and they repeatedly fanned on pucks. In this one, they came out with a way better pace to their play.

The Leafs created the first great scoring chance of the night when Bobby McMann benefited from a pick by the official on Jake Sanderson and went on a 2v1 he probably should have done better with. The Senators also went on an odd-man rush of their own, leading to a Ridly Greig shot, but Anthony Stolarz stood tall and was assertive. The Senators also went on a 3v2 rush, resulting in a Brady Tkachuk shot that Jake McCabe deflected wide with his skate.

Ultimately, I liked the Leafs’ pace a lot better in this start. They didn’t appear nearly as nervous, and their feet were moving. The game had a good flow to it. But then the Leafs did something that has hurt them lately: they took the first penalty. It was a John Tavares high stick in the defensive zone, presenting the Senators with yet another chance to score first.

The Leafs’ penalty kill was excellent. Matthews and Mitch Marner were really effective, and so were Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz. The Leafs have formed two really strong PK duos here, and they appear to have some cohesion and coordinated pressure coming together finally. The Senators didn’t register a shot on net on the power play.

When the game returned to five-on-five, the Leafs went on a 4v3 rush led by William Nylander, who found McCabe on the backside, where McCabe tried to hit Max Pacioretty at the backdoor. The pass bounced back to Nylander, who then tried again to pass to Pacioretty, and he hit the post.

2.   The shots in the first period were 7-3 for the Leafs, and the clock appeared to be dwindling down with a 0-0 score until the Senators were called for a penalty of their own, sending Toronto to the man advantage. We noted after Game 5 that the Maple Leafs are now 0 for their last 30 PP opportunities in potential series-clinching games. Well, they scored on this one.

The Senators’ penalty kill in the past few games really packed the house, and the Leafs weren’t direct enough, so it was great to see an adjustment where Toronto played more downhill. Matthews and Nylander have lived on the half-walls, and the Senators’ diamond kept them at bay. On this goal, look how high Matthews pulled up top against the Senators diamond with one man up top. His feet were out of the zone when he received the pass:

Matthews took the pass with speed and went downhill — knowing he had a double screen in place from Matthew Knies and Tavares — before picking his spot to score a huge goal.

Matthews needed a response after Game 5. He wasn’t good, plain and simple. Everyone knew it. This is a great response; he was really good in this game.

3.   43 seconds into the second period, the Leafs doubled their lead. Following a stretch pass where Nick Jensen stepped up in the neutral zone, Pacioretty stuck with it and applied pressure, leading to a turnover that he poked ahead to Nylander at the Senators’ blue line. It created a quick 2v1 out of almost nowhere.

Nylander smoothly swooped in and wound up his patented shot with all sorts of deception to it, putting Ullmark in a blender as to where he was shooting. Ullmark froze like a deer in the headlights. In terms of placement, the shot was closer to the center of the net than off the bar and in, and he beat Ullmark as clean as a shooter can. The Senators’ goaltender wasn’t even close.

Nylander, who finished second in the league in goals this season, scored his third of the series with a pure goal scorer’s goal that froze Ullmark in cement. Elite sniper finish.

4.    Up 2-0, you would think the Leafs would feel good about their situation and snuff this game out, but they were thoroughly outplayed after scoring. Shot attempts after the 2-0 goal were 9-1 for the Sens.

It started almost immediately after the 2-0 goal, as Jake McCabe made a bad pinch leading to a 3v2 oddman rush and a Stolarz save on Perron. Nylander followed up his goal with a shift where he turned the puck over three times and got caught on the ice for well over a minute. Tim Stutzle created a really good chance off the rush that Stolarz stood tall against. The top line was also hemmed as Matthews made a soft flip up the ice that didn’t get out of the zone, leading to a good Pinto opportunity. Knies followed it up with a soft chip of his own that didn’t get out of the zone.

By the time the second period ended, Sportsnet recorded the Senators up in odd-man rushes 6-0 and rush chances 7-4. The Leafs didn’t close down the neutral zone at all; nobody swung with Stutzle, who wound up all night and sliced through neutral ice with speed. The Leafs played really loose for nearly half a period until the Senators eventually scored.

5.   The Leafs were playing with fire, and they got burned. Off an icing, the Leafs snuck the fresh legs of Tavares on because Laughton was banged up, and it didn’t even matter. Lorentz won the draw, and McCabe made a poor play to hold it and delay either passing it to Nylander or putting it off the glass and out. By the time McCabe tried to move it to Nylander, it was already too late, and the Sens forced the turnover.

From there, the Leafs lost the battle on the wall, and the Sens worked the puck to the point, where Chabot made a good play to buy time and get the puck through. While Chabot bought time, Brady Tkachuk got stuck by McCabe, went down, clamped McCabe’s stick with his legs — which took it out of McCabe’s hands — and then got up and went to the net as McCabe grabbed his stick. It left Tkachuk all by himself in front, where he tipped the puck past Stolarz.

McCabe had a somewhat legitimate gripe for a penalty, but it’s simply not getting called in Game 6. The Leafs played with fire and paid for it. 

6.   The Leafs’ play started to smooth out after the Senators cut their lead in half, and Toronto ended up outshooting the Senators 9-8 in the period (attempts were 14-14 at five-on-five as well).

Both teams really created chances to score at 2-1, including Pinto in the slot following a really bad Pacioretty giveaway on a breakout, and a Tavares side post after a shift where he dominated. Brandon Carlo took a far-side Marner pass, walked in all alone, and played it exactly like you would expect Carlo to play it; he shot it from some distance when he may have had a breakaway he could have walked into.

Mitch Marner also went on a mini 2v1 of sorts and took a 360 backhand shot. If you’re ever wondering why Marner has never scored in the 15 elimination games the team has played, plays like this are the reason. This is a player who averages 30 goals per season; he should use his shot normally and make a regular, hard play on it rather than twirling to his backhand.

The Leafs also created a few other chances towards the end of the period. Calle Jarnkrok scooped up a turnover Laughton created on the forecheck and got a decent shot off in the slot. A Chris Tanev point shot caused some chaos. Tkachuk also had a clean look off the rush that Stolarz swallowed up.

The Leafs settled the game back down reasonably well following their full, but the tensions were still high going into the third.

7.   The Leafs got off to a bit of a slow start to the third, as they were perhaps a bit nervous. The Matthews line started with a pretty good shift, but the Senators hit the post on the next shift after a bad McCabe turnover. They followed it up with a defensive-zone draw for the Leafs, where they sent out the Laughton line, who got dominated.

Breaking the pressure was actually Max Domi‘s line, who ended up cycling the Senators for roughly a minute. Bobby McMann clearly had his legs all night and drove some good forechecks. He was ultimately rewarded up the lineup, reuniting with Tavares and Nylander.

That was great for the second line, but it meant Pacioretty went down to L4. Following Morgan Rielly not reading a reverse pass from Simon Benoit that led to a turnover, the puck went to Pacioretty, who missed a breakout pass by about five feet, leading to an icing against the Leafs’ L4. They lost the ensuing faceoff, Rielly took a really dumb penalty away from the puck, and the Senators headed to the power play.

8.   The maligned Leafs’ penalty kill was really good. Marner and McCabe teamed up for an aggressive pressure that led to a turnover and an initial clear. Laughton and Lorentz followed them up with more pressure, a clear, and Laughton skating off the rush to kill some time. Matthews and Marner came out again and snuffed out the Senators, skating through the neutral zone and burning clock. It was an excellent kill from the Leafs’ top guys, but when they put on Knies-Jarnkrok on at the end, it broke down.

Mainly, Matthew Knies unsuccessfully tried to backhand a puck out; he simply couldn’t make a soft play on the puck at this time in the game. He ended up flubbing the puck, leading to a turnover. Tanev was there to clean up the initial turnover, but Ottawa retained pressure, and Jarnkrok and Tanev retreated; the penalty was just ending, so they were in PK mode.

David Perron collected the puck on the half-wall and played on the perimeter before appearing like he would round the net. As he skated down to the goal line on his backhand, he flipped a cheeky backhand with Stolarz down, and it went over Stolarz’s shoulder to tie the game.

Here was the adversity. The Senators were fired up, and the arena was bumping. The Leafs, to their credit, responded.

9.   After the fourth line started the sequence leading to the Senators’ tying goal, they got the goal back barely a minute and a half later. The sequence started with perhaps the most underrated play of the night: Jake McCabe ripped a gorgeous stretch pass through the neutral zone to spring Max Domi and Pontus Holmberg on a 2v1.

Last spring, Domi went on a 2v1 with Tyler Bertuzzi in the playoffs, where it was obvious to everyone in the arena he would pass the whole time. Domi eventually skated himself into a spot where he saucered a pass to Bertuzzi that was so slow it didn’t impact Swayman whatsoever. All season, Berube has been encouraging Domi to shoot. This time, he made the right read and ripped a shot. It didn’t go in, but Domi and Holmberg followed it up, won a battle, and Domi came out from behind the net. He found Pacioretty in the high slot for a clean shot that he ripped home.

Domi has battled some extended stretches of poor play through the series, but this is undeniably why the coaching staff continues to play him: He is capable of some big-time offensive moments. He scored an overtime winner in the series and ultimately set up the series-winning goal.

For Berube, it’s a great reward for sticking with Pacioretty, who really struggled the last two games. It would have been super easy to healthy scratch him and put in a hungry Nick Robertson. He trusted the veteran, who came through with a massive goal. It was Pacioretty’s fourth(!!!!) career series-clinching goal, a wild stat.

What a moment for him. He spoke after the game about thinking his career might be over at points, and here he was celebrating a series-clinching goal. That is one reason I — and I think we, as a collective — love this game.

10.   The game wasn’t over at 3-2. We have seen Ottawa fight back multiple times in the third period. Not this time.

The Leafs almost ended it before Ottawa had much of a chance to tie it, as Laughton hit the post. It won’t get much attention from the game, but Matthews and Marner were really effective snuffing out Ottawa down the stretch in the final few minutes.

Knies chipped a puck out of the zone following a really good Carlo shot block and legged out an icing against Stutzle, then ate the puck on the wall. It was a beast of a shift from him.

Tanev felt automatic all night, and he continued to be down the stretch, as the Senators purposely waited for him and McCabe to get off and pulled the goalie early to face Benoit-Carlo. We could see why the Leafs like their defensemen big; they get in the way in the pivotal moments. Watching Vegas-Minnesota afterward, it was more of the same from the Golden Knights’ defense group.

The Leafs followed it up with a makeshift line of Laughton-Tavares-Nylander, with McCabe and Tanev behind them. Tavares and Tanev won a battle, leading to a Nylander empty net attempt that just missed. Tavares then lost the defensive-zone faceoff cleanly to Claude Giroux, ultimately leading to a Sanderson one-timer from the high point with traffic in front.

It didn’t matter because Scott Laughton laid out and sacrificed. The shot block bounced to Nylander, who did the rest and scored the empty-netter, but the Laughton block was incredible. It’s the kind of heart-and-guts play that endears you to the fanbase and your teammates. Yes, Laughton really struggled when he first got here, but he was a dog in this series. He played his role extremely well and laid it on the line.

Series over.

I will have a Notebook breaking down my general series thoughts, followed by another to tee up the Leafs-Panthers series. This is about to get a lot more difficult, but for now, enjoy it, Leafs fans.

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Game Highlights w/ Joe Bowen & Jim Ralph

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