2 Takeaway’s From the Maple Leafs’ 6-2 Win Over the Senators

Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their first-round series. With all the hype around the Battle of Ontario—and the first meeting between these two in 21 years—it delivered the type of intensity you’d expect.

From the drop of the puck, it was fast-paced and high-energy. But something felt different this time. Toronto came out ready, and it showed. Right from the start, they applied pressure, and thanks to some undisciplined play from Ottawa, the Maple Leafs actually scored power play goals in a playoff series, which helped them take Game 1 with a 6–2 win.

In this game, there was just about everything you wanted in Game 1. Tons of goals, physicality, almost a full line brawl at the end of the third period. There were some key takeaways from the game, so, let’s jump into it.

Maple Leafs Take Advantage of Undisciplined Play

It’s not surprising. This was Ottawa’s first playoff game since 2017 and their first with this core group. They came in buzzing, maybe too much so. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs leaned on their experience and made the most of Ottawa’s inexperience. Toronto scored three power-play goals—each within the first ten seconds of the man advantage starting. That’s more than they scored in the entire first round against Boston last year.

What really stood out was how composed Toronto was. They didn’t bite on the scrums or take retaliatory penalties. They stayed locked in, cashed in on the power play, and let their top stars go to work. That was the difference in the game.

Core Four Showed Up

It’s been rare over the last nine years to see all four core players show up like they did last night. But in Game 1, they were dialed in. Combined, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares racked up nine points. Add Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies to the mix, and the team’s top players totaled 11 points. Marner, often the target of criticism, led the way with a goal and two assists. Matthews had two assists. Nylander and Tavares each chipped in a goal and an assist.