Senators Have Real Chance to Upset Maple Leafs

The Ottawa Senators might be entering the Battle of Ontario as the underdogs, but there is no reason to underestimate them against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are the Senators’ first playoff appearance since 2017, making it a completely different organization.

Heading into their meeting with the Maple Leafs, it’s safe to say the Senators have a real chance of advancing to Round 2. No one truly knows what this group of Senators players of capable of in the postseason, while all of the pressure will be on the Maple Leafs, as per usual.

The Senators enter these playoffs playing with house money, it’s their first year back at the dance with names like Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Thomas Chabot. They’ll have a chance to play a little more loose and free while no team will be more tightly wound than the Maple Leafs.

If the 4 Nations Face-Off was any indication of what Tkachuk can bring to the table, though, he is going to be a standout star for the Senators. Tkachuk could have been tournament MVP if Team USA toppled Canada in the Final.

Tkachuk scored three goals in four games, all of which felt like crucial tallies to the Senators.

After eight straight playoff failures, the Maple Leafs need to find some sort of success. Every year there has been talk about how this time is different in Toronto, but there is yet to be any proof of things changing.

The Maple Leafs have an advantage, entering this postseason as the most “playoff ready” team Toronto has seen under their current core and are taking on an unfamiliar team.

The Maple Leafs don’t have to deal with a dreaded boogeyman like the Boston Bruins in the first round. While they don’t have to travel to Boston, there is one key former Bruin the Maple Leafs will see pretty often.

Senators goalie Linus Ullmark played the last three seasons with the Bruins, winning the Vezina Trophy in 2023 as the league’s best goalie. So despite not having to play the Bruins, the Maple Leafs will see a former Bruin star in net.

If it helps anything, the Maple Leafs have only squared off against Ullmark in one playoff game and they walked away winners.

The Maple Leafs are countering with Anthony Stolarz as their Game 1 starter. Head coach Craig Berube says Stolarz has playoff experience from being a member of the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers last year, but he only played in one game.