Anthony Stolarz described it perfectly.
After a shutout that secured the Atlantic Division title for Toronto and set up the highly anticipated Battle of Ontario, the Maple Leafs goalie aptly summarized the upcoming first-round series.
“It’s going to be intense,” Stolarz stated. “It’s going to be a real battle. We will be prepared.”
It has been 21 years since the Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators last clashed in the playoffs. Back in the early 2000s, it was almost an annual tradition, with these provincial rivals facing off four times between 2000 and 2004. Players like Tie Domi, Chris Neil, Mats Sundin, and Daniel Alfredsson ensured these matchups were unmissable.
Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, who is from Kitchener, Ontario, shared his excitement once the matchup was confirmed. “I grew up watching this rivalry,” he said. “I remember being a kid, having a mini-hockey net in front of the TV. During TV timeouts, I`d shoot balls into the net. Now, being part of this, I still feel like that eight-year-old watching on TV, but now I get to be on the bench with the team and contribute on the ice.”
Since their last seven-game playoff series in 2004, these two teams have followed different paths. The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs in 10 out of the 11 seasons following that series, while the Senators steadily improved in the Eastern Conference, even reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2007. A decade later, in 2016-17, their fortunes reversed. The Senators, led by Erik Karlsson, came within one game of the Stanley Cup Final before entering a seven-year playoff drought. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs returned to the playoffs with rookie Auston Matthews leading the way and have been contenders ever since.
Now, after a long wait, the paths of these two teams are finally converging. Toronto, in the Matthews era and seeking significant playoff success after multiple first-round exits, and Ottawa, a young and eager team ready to make a playoff impact and defeat their well-known provincial rivals.
Tristan Blackwood