OTTAWA — The Toronto Maple Leafs are moving on. In a gritty, back-and-forth Game 6 on May 1, the Leafs topped the Ottawa Senators 4-2 at Canadian Tire Centre, clinching their first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The victory sets up a second-round showdown with the defending champion Florida Panthers, a rematch that’s already got fans buzzing.
The game was a tale of momentum swings. Toronto jumped out early, with Auston Matthews roofing a power-play goal in the first period to make it 1-0. William Nylander doubled the lead in the second, his wrist shot from the slot beating Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark clean. But Ottawa, facing elimination, wasn’t going down quietly. Brady Tkachuk, the Senators’ heart-and-soul captain, fired a laser past Anthony Stolarz late in the second, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Early in the third, David Perron knotted it at 2-2, silencing the Leafs-heavy crowd and raising the specter of a Game 7.
Enter Max Pacioretty. The veteran, bumped up to the second line for this one, found himself in the right place at the right time. With under eight minutes left, he jammed home a loose puck in a goalmouth scramble, restoring Toronto’s lead at 3-2. The goal was Pacioretty’s first of the series, a clutch moment for a player who’d been scratched earlier in the playoffs. Nylander sealed it with an empty-netter on his 28th birthday, capping a two-goal night and sending the Leafs faithful into a frenzy.
Stolarz, Toronto’s backbone all series, stopped 20 of 22 shots, including a sprawling save on Tkachuk’s breakaway in the second that kept the game tied at the time. Ullmark, despite the loss, was sharp for Ottawa, turning aside 25 of 28 shots. The Senators, back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, showed fight but couldn’t overcome Toronto’s depth and timely scoring.
This series, dubbed the Battle of Ontario, lived up to its billing. Toronto roared out to a 3-0 lead, winning Games 1 and 2 at home (6-2 and 3-2 in overtime) and Game 3 in Ottawa (3-2 in overtime). But the Senators clawed back, taking Game 4 in overtime 4-3 on Jake Sanderson’s heroics and blanking the Leafs 4-0 in Game 5 behind Ullmark’s 29-save shutout. Game 6 was Toronto’s third crack at closing it out, and they finally got it done.
The Leafs’ power play, a sore spot in past playoffs, came alive in this series, clicking for five goals, including Matthews’ tally in Game 6. Mitch Marner led the way with six assists, while Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies each potted three goals. For Ottawa, Tkachuk led with three goals and three assists, but the young core—Tim Stutzle, Sanderson, and Drake Batherson—couldn’t muster enough to extend the series.
Toronto’s road to this point wasn’t easy. On April 16, they clinched the Atlantic Division with a 4-0 win over Buffalo, earning home-ice advantage and this matchup with the wild-card Senators. The Leafs, now in their ninth straight playoff appearance, have only won two series in the “Core Four” era (Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares). The other came in 2023 against Tampa Bay, also in six games.
Now, the Leafs face a taller task. The Panthers, fresh off a five-game rout of Tampa Bay, are battle-tested and hungry to defend their title. Toronto went 1-3 against Florida this season, with Matthews held pointless in three of those games. The second round starts this weekend, with dates and times still to be set.
For Ottawa, the season ends in disappointment but with promise. The Senators, who went 3-0 against Toronto in the regular season, proved they belong on the playoff stage. For Toronto, it’s a sigh of relief and a chance to keep dreaming of their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Game 6 stats: Toronto outshot Ottawa 29-22. The Leafs went 1-for-3 on the power play; the Senators were 0-for-2. Toronto’s record in the series was 4-2. The Leafs are now 6-0 all-time in playoff series when leading 3-0.