TORONTO — It wasn’t pretty, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will head east along the 401 to Kanata up 2-0 in their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.
Morgan Rielly and John Tavares scored first-period goals and Max Domi sent Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy with his overtime winner as the Leafs ultimately hung on for a 3-2 win.
The last time the Leafs went up 2-0 in a playoff series? Way back in 2002, in the first round against the New York Islanders.
The Leafs had to rely heavily on one of their most important players of their season, goaltender Anthony Stolarz. As the Leafs’ pace slowed and they struggled to generate decent scoring chances in the second period, the Senators took over the game. Yet Ottawa struggled to beat Stolarz, who ended up making 26 saves in the win. There’s a case to be made that the Leafs were lucky to get to overtime and get the win.
The Senators deserve credit for the pushback they showed. This series could get more interesting as it heads to an arena that hasn’t seen playoff hockey since 2017.
Here are some takeaways.
Domi the overtime hero
This season, Max Domi hasn’t contributed the same kind of offence that he did last year. But for the time being, none of that matters. Domi cemented himself in Leafs lore with an overtime winner by doing what Leafs coach Craig Berube called for him to do all season: shoot the puck more.
MAX DOMI OVERTIME WINNER!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/PQr6Zt0lAa
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 23, 2025
Domi had one of the first chances of a tense overtime frame. He then stayed with the play and darted around the Senators’ defence to fire a quick shot past Linus Ullmark.
Domi has promised that his best self would emerge come playoff time. Just under four minutes into overtime, he made good on that promise.
Stolarz stands tall
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Anthony Stolarz to the Leafs’ win, to their chances in the series and, just maybe, a deep playoff run.
The 6-foot-6 monster of a goaltender provides not just the composure the Leafs have long lacked in past playoff series, but the attitude of a hardened winner.
Stolarz saw almost everything thrown at him through traffic and used his combination of athleticism and size to make 26 saves in the game. He ended up allowing just two goals for the second game in a row.
It doesn’t feel that long ago that there was a debate over who would start in the playoffs for the Leafs: Stolarz or Joseph Woll.
Now, there’s zero debate over who is winning the goaltending battle in this series. Senators goalie Linus Ullmark looked off his game in the first period while Stolarz was dialled in.
Anthony Stolarz lets Ridly Greig know he doesn’t like him hanging around the crease 😳 pic.twitter.com/MCUAQSzB4C
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2025
And that attitude? That manifested in Stolarz taking a shot at public enemy No. 1 in Toronto — Senators forward Ridly Greig. Stolarz remembered the run Greig took at him in Game 1 and gave him multiple whacks with his stick before hammering Greig with his shoulder. Somehow, both Greig and Stolarz received minor penalties, which made the whole melee worth it for the Leafs.
A slow start for the Sens
The Senators started slow with their high-danger chance generation and expected goals. But they improved through the second period onward.
Two goals at the net front put the Senators behind the eight-ball within the first half of the first period. Both goals came with Nick Jensen on the ice. He was tied up in front of the net on the first goal, with Drake Batherson losing Morgan Rielly. On the second, John Tavares banked the puck off of him.
As the Senators continue to work on making life difficult for Stolarz, they were beaten handily in their blue paint to start the game. Toronto led 4-2 in high-danger chances in the first period, despite the Senators leading in shots 10-7, and dominated with a 76.31 expected goal share.
But the Senators flipped the script in the second period with a 5-1 advantage in high-danger chances before Brady Tkachuk’s first playoff goal gave his team life. And while losing the high-danger chance battle in the third, the Senators outpaced Toronto with a 68.01 percent expected-goals share despite only having four shots on net.
Changes coming for Ottawa?
The Senators might have to consider a line change or two ahead of Game 3, considering how their ‘3-D Line’ (David Perron, Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens) looked at five-on-five.
The trio was one of their most effective lines after they came together following the trade deadline. In Game 2, they were arguably the Sens’ worst.
They were dominated at five-on-five in the first period whether you’re looking at it through chances allowed, expected goals, scoring chances or high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The line ended the first period with a 0 percent Corsi share. It improved slightly to 14.29 percent into the second period.
Cozens and Batherson looked better with Fabian Zetterlund, who found himself playing with the line when the Sens were at four-on-four and for parts of the third period. By comparison, Zetterlund-Cozens-Batherson operated at a 72.73 percent Corsi share and looked more dangerous. Zetterlund was always going to be a prime candidate to get more minutes if the Sens needed to shake up their lines. Sure enough, Senators coach Travis Green did that. But despite the changes, Cozens and Batherson were on the ice when Domi scored the overtime winner.
(Photo: Kevin Sousa / NHLI via Getty Images)