'I Don't Think There's Any Panic': "Maple Leafs Miss Another Series-Closing Opportunity in Frightening Déjà Vu'
Apr 29, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) battles with Ottawa Senators center Dylan Cozens (24) in the third period during game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
It was that familiar feeling of tension that Toronto Maple Leafs fans at Scotiabank Arena have felt before. The crowd went silent when Dylan Cozens finished off a 2-on-1 opportunity to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-0 lead midway through the third period in Game 5. Reality set in, when Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk scored empty-net goals to defeat Toronto 4-0 and force a Game 6 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday.
After winning the first three games and being an overtime away from a sweep on Saturday, the Senators have planted a seed of serious doubt in their opponent. Dating back to 2017, when core players Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander began a string of nine consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs have fallen to 1-13 in games where they had a chance to close out a series.
Could the Leafs be upset again? They've been through it before.
"I don’t think there’s any panic in this room," Matthews insisted. "We won three, they win two, it’s the ups and downs of playoffs. We’ve been here before and we’re just going to put our best foot forward, go into the next game with confidence."
Toronto's top line, consisting of Matthews, Marner and Matthew Knies, started this series hot. But in Game 5, they were on the ice for the evening's only even-strength non-empty-net goal. Matthews, good on faceoffs for much of the series, lost one in the defensive zone before Thomas Chabot scored past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
"Not enough speed through the neutral zone with that line and then creating things in the offensive zone off that. Like, they were just a little bit late on things and didn't create enough stoppages in the offensive goal," Berube said of the line. "It was one-and-done too much for me with that line tonight in the offensive zone."
For the second consecutive game, the Leafs gave up a shorthanded goal. After blowing a chance to sweep the series following a double-minor penalty issued to Ottawa early in Game 4's overtime, Toronto's power play has run dry.
"We had our looks, didn’t capitalize on them," Marner said. "That’s how it goes sometimes."
The Senators, meanwhile, went from a listless team through the first three games to carrying all the momentum back home for a chance to even up the series. We're not at a Game 7 yet. But the loss carried a weight, echoing the messaging consistent with past Maple Leafs failures.
Berube addressed the team following the Game 5 loss as he has done after every game in the playoffs.
"Stick with it. We're up 3-2 in the series," Berube said of his message. "There's a lot of ups and downs. We need some composure. And we've got to stay composed and stay poised."
"We'll figure out some things and be better next game that we'll work on. That's what it's about. We'll work on some things and we'll be better next game."
The Maple Leafs have a history of playoff disappointments, but nothing cut deeper than Toronto's 2021 team that won the pandemic-necessary 'North Division' consisting of only Canadian opponents. An overwhelmingly favored Maple Leafs team dominated through the first four games and had a 3-1 series lead before losing the next three in one of the biggest playoff collapses in recent team history.
The Leafs are nowhere near that... Yet. And Game 6 will be a true test for Berube to see if his messaging can rouse the core from a long history of playoff malaise.
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