Series Talk: [A1] Toronto Maple Leafs vs [WC1] Ottawa Senators (TOR Leads 1-0)

[Martin Skoula]

It’s not enough to outperform the other team’s stars, gotta perform proportionally to your cap hit.

If the superstars take more and the depth suffers because of it, you can’t really turn around and blame guys like Kampf and Holmberg for not outperforming other teams’ depth pieces

“To whom much is given, much is expected”

Kampf costs more than Cousins-Grieg-Gaudette or Zetterlund + either of Cousins or Gaudette if you don’t count the ELC, he should be outplaying their 2/3 of their 4th line on his own then right?

 

[Mr Nogatco]

Kampf costs more than Cousins-Grieg-Gaudette or Zetterlund + either of Cousins or Gaudette if you don’t count the ELC, he should be outplaying their 2/3 of their 4th line on his own then right?

Ideally sure.

 

[mad4comp]

Gonna be hilarious watching ottawa pull some magic out their rear ends and end this in 6 games. I just wanna be here for the unending Leafs overrated super thread comments.

 

[rfournier103]

Game 1 on ESPN2 tomorrow night and I can’t wait. If Ottawa can grab an early lead, the doubt could start creeping in for the Leafs.

 

[Auston Marlander]

Game 1 on ESPN2 tomorrow night and I can’t wait. If Ottawa can grab an early lead, the doubt could start creeping in for the Leafs.

If Toronto scores early Ottawa may fold and leave the ice .

 

[Eat The Rich]

WOW 73 pages already!

You Leafs fans know the playoffs span over 3 months right, you don't have to cram the posting all in at once?

Maybe for the rest of the league. We're lucky if our playoffs last three weeks.

 

[rfournier103]

If Toronto scores early Ottawa may fold and leave the ice .

My only real recollection of Ottawa in the playoffs is them beating the Bruins in the first round once. I don’t even remember what year that was. So, that’s what I think of when I think of Sens playoff hockey.

I don’t need to tell anyone what I think of when I think of Toronto Maple Leafs playoff hockey.

All bullshit aside, I think this series has serious bloodbath potential, and probably won’t be as easy as Toronto wants it to be. I’m expecting to be very entertained.

 

[Silky Johnson]

I want the Sens to win but even the biggest Leafs haters have to grudgingly admit the Leafs look primed for a run this year. 52 wins and 108 points, looking legitimately scary.

I think if the Leafs don’t make at least the Conference finals, it will be because they were barely outlasted in a very hard-fought 7-game war of attrition to one of the Florida teams.

This feels like a playoff experience year for the Sens. Sucks it has to be against this Leafs team though.

They had a better record in 21, 22 & 23...

 

[notbias]

Game 1 on ESPN2 tomorrow night and I can’t wait. If Ottawa can grab an early lead, the doubt could start creeping in for the Leafs.

I am convinced at some point, the team will become numb to all the disappointment and tune it all out, and I think their biggest issue each year is between their ears.

Hoping this is the year.

 

[NyQuil]

Find it funny how Sens fans say they have no pressure. Like losing to the Leafs yet once again will be just fine

Well, no one is talking about imploding the entire team if we lose.

So comparatively speaking, no pressure.

 

[rfournier103]

I am convinced at some point, the team will become numb to all the disappointment and tune it all out, and I think their biggest issue each year is between their ears.

Hoping this is the year.

Not that my opinion matters to a Leafs fan, but the key for them is the defensemen and goaltending. They have goal scoring in spades, but giving up bad goals at inopportune times is what’s killed them time and again. Is it mental? Probably most of it.

Also, Auston Matthews might be the second best player in the league, and even though the Sens are less talented on paper, Matthews needs a good series and to get some momentum for the Leafs to go anywhere, nevermind out of the first round.

1. Get Matthews on track early.
2. Don’t give up dumb goals late.
3. Keep stupid penalties to a minimum.

It really should be that simple.

If this series turns into a slugfest of Leafs frustration, that will play into Ottawa’s hands. That will level the ice and then all bets are off.

Enjoy the series.

 

[notbias]

Not that my opinion matters to a Leafs fan, but the key for them is the defensemen and goaltending. They have goal scoring in spades, but giving up bad goals at inopportune times is what’s killed them time and again. Is it mental? Probably most of it.

They give up very few goals in the playoffs, they've been great here.

Their biggest issue has been scoring, specifically depth scoring.

The one year they got it, they advanced.

Auston Matthews might be the second best player in the league, and even though the Sens are less talented on paper, Matthews needs a good series and get some momentum for the Leafs to go anywhere, nevermind out of the first round.

He's had good series, the biggest issue with the stars is that each star has played well, rarely do they play well in the same series.

1. Get Matthews on track early.
2. Don’t give up dumb goals late.
3. Keep stupid penalties to a minimum.

I think that is any team honestly.

1. Get stars into the game.
2. Don't give up late goals.
3. Stay out of the box.

Seems like a recipe for any team to win.

It really should be that simple.

If this series turns into a slugfest of Leafs frustration, that will play into Ottawa’s hands. That will level the ice and then anything can happen.

Enjoy the series.

Ottawa is not a tough team, they get overrated because Tkachuk is propped up as some unicorn powerforward.

Just my two cents from watching them every year... I think the people who don't watch them usually are swayed by the media far too much and not by the reality of the series they played.

 

[JD1]

Does anyone know how many goals Ovechkin has scored since the Ottawa senators last won a playoff game?

Probably nowhere near as many that know Ottawa has won more playoff series in the Matthews era that Toronto. A lot of people know the Leafs have only won one round in the playoffs in Matthews career and that ottawa won two rounds in 2017

Interesting little historical sidebar. The last time Ottawa won a playoff game, it was their 11th playoff win that year. 11 playoff wins in one year is more than the Leafs have ever won in a single year. Did you know that?

I wonder how many people that post on this site can remember Ottawa playing in the Cup final? I'd be willing to bet that the number of people that post here that actually remember Ottawa playing in the finals outnumbers those that can remember Toronto actually playing in the finals by more than 500 to 1.

 

[authentic]

It’s not enough to outperform the other team’s stars, gotta perform proportionally to your cap hit.

If the superstars take more and the depth suffers because of it, you can’t really turn around and blame guys like Kampf and Holmberg for not outperforming other teams’ depth pieces

“To whom much is given, much is expected”

Other teams have signed better depth players for less. This reasoning is nonsense quite frankly.

 

[JD1]

Ottawa D is probably the softness D and less physical D in the east. They are good in transition but to defend and play playoff style of hockey, i'm not high on this D

We talked about how sens foward a physical and will be in leafs face but guy who will need to make life miserable to Matthews, marner, nylander and cie in dirty place, it's not Tkachuk, amadio, greig and whatever... It's the D but Can this D play a high physical type of game come playoff time to force leafs foward to stay in the outside? i don't think so and if they can't, good luck they will need it.

I look at it the other way. Ottawa's D is not known for being nasty and a match up against Toronto where the top offensive players are soft works well for Ottawa.

Maybe the bottom 6 can play hard physical hockey, but the top 6 not being physical enables Ottawa to skate out with the puck and they've got two of the best in the league at it in Chabot and Sanderson

 

[HockeyVirus]

Only thing clear to me in this thread is the Leafs are very under rated. Any other team had the season we did, built the way we are, they are cup favorites. People have no problem looking past all of it for a narrative. There is nothing that prevents Toronto from making a deep playoff run. The fact the narrative exists at all is because people expected it to happen a lot sooner. Point being, to expect it is to mean they have the ability, which they clearly do. People lose sight of that.

There is no easy wins in the NHL playoffs. I just expect after the series when we look back, the Sens would have had their victories but the Leafs will have clearly had control of the series the entire time.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I look at it the other way. Ottawa's D is not known for being nasty and a match up against Toronto where the top offensive players are soft works well for Ottawa.

Maybe the bottom 6 can play hard physical hockey, but the top 6 not being physical enables Ottawa to skate out with the puck and they've got two of the best in the league at it in Chabot and Sanderson

Top 6 not physical? Knies and Bobby McMann (and Patches if he plays there again) say hello. This isn't 2018 anymore

 

[JD1]

Top 6 not physical? Knies and Bobby McMann (and Patches if he plays there again) say hello. This isn't 2018 anymore

Let's be real here. You're the guy that started this thread

Thread 'Future of the team is incredibly bleak'

Mar 16, 2025

Let's be real here. We have arguably 2 prospects of any note in Cowan and maybe Danford neither move the needle. We have no draft picks because we traded them all at the TDL. 2 of our 4 core pieces are UFAs and likely to walk for nothing. We have no #1 dman, hell no #2 dman.

We have NO future. The only possible move this offseason is to throw money around in free agency. For any long time fans, we've seen this story before. We will end up paying players like Komaserk, Lombardi, Armstrong, Connolly, Clarkson, etc big money in free agency and be trash but with a cap strapped team.

There is...

• HockeyVirus
• Replies: 561
• Forum: Toronto Maple Leafs

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• 
• 

 

[JD1]

Only thing clear to me in this thread is the Leafs are very under rated. Any other team had the season we did, built the way we are, they are cup favorites. People have no problem looking past all of it for a narrative. There is nothing that prevents Toronto from making a deep playoff run. The fact the narrative exists at all is because people expected it to happen a lot sooner. Point being, to expect it is to mean they have the ability, which they clearly do. People lose sight of that.

There is no easy wins in the NHL playoffs. I just expect after the series when we look back, the Sens would have had their victories but the Leafs will have clearly had control of the series the entire time.

You're young right? I don't want to spoil your breakfast but the big 4 + Morgan have a history of failure. Until they stop failing and actually do something in the playoffs, it's going to be difficult for pundits to call them a cup favourite

 

[Commander Clueless]

All this "Leafs overrated" talk has me confused. We know exactly what they are - a great regular season team who can't win in the playoffs. They've proven this time and time and time again.

Everyone is saying the Sens are the underdogs, but you're only looking at the standings.

Sens winning in 7 is the default outcome here. It's the Leafs trying to buck the trend.

As a Leafs fan I would love to watch them steamroll their way to the ECF, don't get me wrong. But they have everything to prove and the Sens are hungry. This will be a great series I think.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Let's be real here. You're the guy that started this thread

Thread 'Future of the team is incredibly bleak'

Mar 16, 2025

Let's be real here. We have arguably 2 prospects of any note in Cowan and maybe Danford neither move the needle. We have no draft picks because we traded them all at the TDL. 2 of our 4 core pieces are UFAs and likely to walk for nothing. We have no #1 dman, hell no #2 dman.

We have NO future. The only possible move this offseason is to throw money around in free agency. For any long time fans, we've seen this story before. We will end up paying players like Komaserk, Lombardi, Armstrong, Connolly, Clarkson, etc big money in free agency and be trash but with a cap strapped team.

There is...

• HockeyVirus
• Replies: 561
• Forum: Toronto Maple Leafs

• 
• 
• 

Did you read that thread? Because it's mostly about the off-season and beyond.

We're not there yet.

 

[Hotsam Batcho]

Leafs win in 5. Sens fans will get all excited because they may outshoot the Leafs and feel good about possession times until they realize this is how the Leafs have won all year. First round won’t be hard. It’s Tampa in round two …..

Might as well start the we want Tampa chants early

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

Find it funny how Sens fans say they have no pressure. Like losing to the Leafs yet once again will be just fine

The fans care about that.

Most of the players on the team were still shitting their pants the last time Toronto won a series against Ottawa. They couldn't care less.

 

[JD1]

Did you read that thread? Because it's mostly about the off-season and beyond.

We're not there yet.

I read a few posts.

Here's a couple of quotes in the original post from our man @HockeyVirus

"We have no #1 dman, hell no #2 dman" one thing I'd agree with is Ottawa has the two best D in this series.

"I am nearing my breaking point with this team" yet here he is a month later talking smack. I suspect the reason he's nearing his breaking point is due to repeated failure. Now he's talking about being "under rated"

Whatever. It's going to be a fun two weeks.

 

[ijuka]

Find it funny how Sens fans say they have no pressure. Like losing to the Leafs yet once again will be just fine

Sens losing to Leafs would be completely expected, Leafs losing to Sens would be a massive upset. So it's quite natural that Sens would have no pressure.