Apr 26, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) skates with the puck in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs were afforded a golden opportunity to complete a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Tied 3-3 in overtime, Senators forward Drake Batherson was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev. Given that the Leafs were 5-of-11 with the man-advantage in the series, it looked Toronto was destined punch their ticket to the second round right then and there.
Despite eight shot attempts, including a shot from Auston Matthews that hit the post, the Leafs were unable to convert before Jake Sanderson scored the winner later in the session.
The Leafs were without John Tavares for the four-minute opportunity after he was hit by Sens defenseman Artem Zub and left the game. That forced an adjustment from Craig Berube, who elected to install defenseman Morgan Rielly onto the first unit while shifting Mitch Marner to the flank. Auston Matthews then moved into the slot. It was an interesting choice to put Rielly back on the top unit, rather than making one simple adjustment of putting a big body in the bumper spot like Bobby McMann.
Berube explained his reasoning for the decision.
"Mo's had a great series and has done some really good things offensively. So that's an easy decision for me," Berube said. "Matthews had two good looks in the slot, and that's what we're looking for. It did work out, but we could have been a little bit more direct on that power play. I thought that we could have shot a few more pucks and put pucks into the net area more, and created some chaos there. We'll be better."
Tavares returned to the game for a few shifts before Ottawa ended it on Sanderson's winner. And Berube is right about Rielly's offensive contributions in the series. Toronto's longest tenured player, Rielly has two goals and one assist in the four games played in the postseason. McMann, on the other hand, has just one assist and is playing in his first NHL playoffs of his career. In the middle of Game 4, McMann did see a promotion onto the second line in place of Pontus Holmberg as the club looked to get more of a spark.
If Tavares is ok enough to play in Game 5, the point will be moot and the regular five-forward top unit will be back. But there is no question that the Leafs not capitalizing on the four-minute power play was a big opportunity missed to put the series away.
