Senators beat Leafs to stave off elimination again, cut Battle of Ontario deficit to 3-2

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 10:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The Senators won't spell distant successful the Battle of Ontario.

Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the archetypal playoff shutout of his vocation arsenic Ottawa edged out the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 connected Tuesday to chopped the shortage successful the teams' first-round matchup to 3-2.

Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens gave the Senators a 2-0 pb earlier Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk added empty-net goals for Ottawa, which erstwhile again staved disconnected elimination aft picking up a 4-3 overtime triumph successful Game 4 astatine location Saturday. Tkachuk and Stutzle added 2 assists each for three-point performances.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 shots for the Leafs.

Only 4 NHL teams person travel backmost from a 3-0 shortage to triumph a bid — the 1942 Leafs, 1975 Islanders, the 2010 Flyers and the 2014 Kings.

Game 6 goes Thursday successful the nation's superior astatine Canadian Tire Centre.

Toronto, which bushed Ottawa 4 times successful a five-playoff span successful the aboriginal 2000s, dropped to 1-13 successful imaginable bid clinching games successful the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner epoch dating backmost to the 2018 playoffs. That lone triumph came successful a first-round triumph implicit the Tampa Bay Lightning 2 years ago.

The Leafs took the opener of this bid against its provincial rival 6-2 earlier back-to-back 3-2 overtime victories pushed them to a 3-0 lead. The Senators, meanwhile, picked up their archetypal playoff triumph since 2017 successful Saturday's extra-time determination that kept their play going.

Ottawa opened scoring

Ottawa opened the scoring astatine 3:46 of Tuesday's 2nd play connected a Chabot constituent changeable that recovered its mode past Stolarz done postulation pursuing an violative portion faceoff triumph for the defenceman's first-ever playoff goal.

Toronto — with plentifulness of post-season baggage, including a blown 3-1 bid pb successful the 2021 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens — looked disjointed arsenic the play wore connected earlier the location broadside yet started to propulsion wrong a tense Scotiabank Arena.

Ullmark had to beryllium crisp connected a Marner accidental successful choky earlier Senators guardant Fabian Zetterlund deed the broadside of Stolarz's nett with the goaltender scrambling.

Leafs guardant Steven Lorentz past had a terrific accidental connected a 2-on-0 with Calle Jarnkrok, but was incapable to decorativeness into a yawning cage.

Stolarz made a large halt connected Tkachuk from the slot aboriginal successful the 3rd to support Toronto down by conscionable one.

 The Leafs got a powerfulness play aboriginal successful the play erstwhile Ridly Greig needlessly tackled Marner on the boards.

The Senators, however, broke the different mode and Cozens scored his archetypal astatine 8:24 erstwhile helium took a walk from Adam Gaudette connected a 2-on-1 and fired past Stolarz arsenic Ottawa scored short-handed for the 2nd clip successful arsenic galore games against a five-forward antheral advantage.

Matthews, who deed the station successful OT connected Saturday with the bid connected his stick, recovered robust again with 5 minutes to spell successful regularisation earlier Stutzle sealed it into the bare nett with 2:51 to play.

Ottawa had a large accidental 2 minutes into the archetypal erstwhile Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly had to wide a puck disconnected the extremity line.

Giroux plays his 100th playoff crippled of NHL career

John Tavares got a breakaway for the location broadside aft intercepting a pass, but Ullmark was determination to smother his effort.

The Leafs went to the powerfulness play and Matthews had a mates of bully looks, portion the Senators' archetypal antheral vantage saw defenceman Chris Tanev necktie up Drake Batherson successful choky with Stolarz astatine his mercy.

Matthews suited aft skipping Monday's signifier to get immoderate other rest. The 27-year-old superstar centre missed clip earlier this play with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Senators guardant Claude Giroux, a subordinate of that 2010 Flyers squad that erased a 3-0 spread against the Boston Bruins, played the 100th playoff crippled of his NHL career. The 37-year-old entered with 29 goals and 55 assists for 84 points crossed 99 post-season contests.