When the Senators and Leafs met in last spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs, it seemed like we were witnessing the start of something good. Since their famous post-season tilts of the early 2000s, the two clubs have rarely been good at the same time, so the 2025 playoff Battle of Ontario was a welcome sight.
But as the two clubs meet in Ottawa Saturday night for the first time this season, it looks like the best version of the Battle will be on hold again for the foreseeable future.
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The Leafs will almost certainly miss the playoffs this spring for the first time in seven years, and it looks like their Stanley Cup window has closed, if it was ever really open at all.
But to make matters worse (for them), they’re also limping to the finish line with the entire hockey world questioning the team’s character and culture.
Earlier this month, when Leafs captain Auston Matthews had his season ended by a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim’s Radko Gudas, the group was nationally chastised for their lack of pushback.
But now Toronto has another knee injury to a top player.
Matthew Knies, who’s second in Leafs scoring with 57 points, told The Hockey News’ David Alter that he’s playing with a knee injury, but trying to push through and finish the season with it.
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“It’s obviously not comfortable playing through it, but I feel like everyone’s playing through something at this time of year, so that’s not really an excuse,” Knies said. “If it’s not going to get worse, and there’s no problem with me playing, then I’m going to play.”
So to recap, since last year’s playoffs, Toronto has gone from first to worst in the Atlantic. They’ve lost Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, traded away Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann at the deadline, Knies is rocking a bum knee, and Morgan Rielly is a late scratch with a lower-body injury.
And even if they closed the year now with a perfect 12-0 run, they’d still finish 13 points worse than last year.
Whether the team will be checked out tonight or not remains to be seen, but their fan base seems to be. Usually, despite the Senators’ premium pricing for these matchups, Toronto’s fans would fill Canadian Tire Centre. But two hours before game time, there were still plenty of empty seats.
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The Leafs’ timing for a game against Ottawa couldn’t be worse because Brady Tkachuk was a tough man to contain on Thursday night.
Tkachuk has endured some recent criticism for not being at his usual intensity level, but he managed to completely flip the switch against the Islanders, brawling off the opening faceoff, scoring the winning goal in the final seconds, and generally playing like an angry spring bear just out of hibernation.
It will be interesting to see, after dealing with post-Olympic fatigue, if he’ll be able to floor it like that for the rest of the season or not.
As for the playoffs, the Senators are still very much in the mix.
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With 14 games to play, they’re five points behind Montreal (A3), Boston (WC1), and Detroit (WC2). Philadelphia and Washington are right on Ottawa’s tail, just one point back. So the Senators will need an elite finish and a couple of teams ahead of them to falter.
Ottawa TV remotes will get a good workout on Saturday as the Canadiens host the Islanders, while the Red Wings and Bruins go head-to-head in Detroit.
Saturday night is about kicking their provincial rivals while they’re down, getting the two points they need, while hoping those other two games are both settled in regulation time.
Sens head coach Travis Green says Linus Ullmark will start in goal, and despite some line tinkering on Thursday, he’s going back to the combos he’s begun games with for most of this month.
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Senators projected lineup
Drake Batherson — Tim Stutzle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund
Thomas Chabot — Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven — Jordan Spence
Dennis Gilbert — Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
James Reimer
Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (lower body)
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was originally published at The Hockey News. For more Senators news, analysis, and features, visit the Ottawa Senators site at The Hockey News.
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The Buying and Selling Of Jakob Chychrun Never Quite Worked Out In Ottawa
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