On Wednesday morning, following the Ottawa Senators’ tough 3-2 overtime loss in Toronto, winger Drake Batherson stepped in front of the media in Ottawa and took full responsibility for his role in the Maple Leafs' game-winning goal.
"You live and you learn," Batherson told the media. "I mean, you make a mistake and you learn from it, and sometimes it's the hard way. And obviously, it costs us the game. So, you live and you learn but like I say, you get to move on to the next one. But I definitely wish I could have that one back, to say the least.
"The best thing you do is come out tomorrow and try to make a difference."
While Batherson taking accountability is both appropriate and admirable, in reality, there was more than one contributor to the series of unfortunate events.
Prior to the game-winning goal, Batherson carried the puck up the left wing as the Senators entered the Leafs' zone. He attempted a soft backhand pass to the middle, trying to connect with Dylan Cozens, but Simon Benoit easily intercepted the pass and rushed up ice. It could have been a disaster, but not because it led to an odd-man rush. It didn't. Toronto made a line change on the rush, so it was a relatively harmless 2-on-4.
The Senators, however, were also in the process of changing their D on the fly. When Batherson lost the puck, Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo were heading off, and as Thomas Chabot and Nick Jensen jumped on, Ottawa even briefly had too many men on the ice. Matinpalo made it off, but Kleven didn’t. Because of the turnover, Jensen had to return to the bench, while Kleven scrambled to get back into the play.
That confusion allowed Benoit, who isn’t exactly Cale Makar, to gain the Ottawa blue line with little resistance. Still, it was just a 2-on-4. That play never should have resulted in a shot, let alone a high-quality scoring chance.
Cozens had a chance to defend against Domi but overcommitted on a soft stick check and missed. Batherson also whiffed completely on his attempt to recover. Both players could have ended the threat with even the lightest body contact.
Chabot should have been in a perfect position to provide an extra layer of protection, but instead made a critical mistake by backing in far too deep when Domi was the only threat.
Chabot then tried to block the shot, but only ended up helping to screen Sens goalie Linus Ullmark, while giving Domi a clean shooting lane. Benoit was also there to help with the screen and probably could have been slowed down by Kleven, who had no one else to cover.
MAX DOMI CALLS GAME 🍁
He buries the @Energizer OT winner and the @MapleLeafs have a 2-0 series lead! #StanleyCuppic.twitter.com/nAfdwuduR4
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2025
For Sens fans, the goal may have been the hardest pill to swallow since Chris Kunitz’s double-overtime winner in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final — a goal that, coincidentally, came from almost the same spot on the ice.
Batherson deserves some serious blame for the winning goal, no question. But he doesn’t need to carry it all — there was more than enough blame to go around.
