TORONTO — The Ottawa Senators made their first appearance in the NHL post-season in eight years on Sunday night.
Their lack of playoff experience showed in a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Undisciplined play, so-so goaltending and a weak penalty kill all proved costly in the opener of the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
"We definitely have to stay out of the box, I'll say that," said Senators head coach Travis Green. "At the end of the game, sometimes things (get) a little out of hand once in a while. I thought there was a couple calls that they did a good job selling, but it's tough on the refs.
"But we can't take that many penalties."
Netminder Linus Ullmark allowed four goals on the first 10 shots he faced, but his teammates offered him little protection.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander scored after being left open in the slot and Mitch Marner tallied on a breakaway. Ullmark did well to stop a tipped shot by John Tavares but the veteran forward knocked in the rebound.
Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies — the latter on the power play — added third-period goals to help put the game away. Toronto scored on three of six opportunities with the man advantage.
"We took too many penalties, they scored on (them) and that's the game," said Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk. "So that's on us. We've got to be more disciplined."
Senators forward Drake Batherson silenced the vocal sellout crowd when he chipped in a rebound at 16:18 of the first period to cut Toronto's lead to 2-1. Dylan Cozens shot the puck on net and Batherson took advantage when Toronto netminder Anthony Stolarz couldn't corral the loose puck.
Early in the second period, Tkachuk was stoned by Stolarz on a breakaway and Shane Pinto was denied on a glorious chance in front moments later.
"Timely saves are huge, especially in the playoffs," said Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube. "They go a long way."
Tim Stutzle took the first penalty of the game with a boarding call and the Maple Leafs scored nine seconds later. Two minutes after that, Ridly Greig needlessly cross-checked Tavares and Toronto scored again.
Instead of looking to make a push to start the third period, Ottawa was saddled with another penalty after Batherson tripped Nylander with 12.6 seconds left in the second.
The Senators managed to kill the minor and Greig later cut into the deficit when he scored on a delayed penalty call. But Rielly restored Toronto's three-goal advantage 45 seconds later.
With Batherson off for a cross-checking penalty, Knies scored to ice it with under seven minutes to play.
"I'm not going to say anything about the reffing, but calls are calls and that's the game," Batherson said. "We've just got to be more disciplined. We can't give those guys that many looks."
Ottawa outshot Toronto 33-24. The Senators will try to even the series on Tuesday before hosting Game 3 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday.
The Senators, who swept the Maple Leafs in their three regular-season meetings, did not open their locker room to media after the game.
A few players spoke briefly in the hallway and Green held an availability in the media centre.
Ottawa (45-30-7) secured the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 97 points. Toronto (52-26-4) took top spot in the Atlantic Division with 108 points.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
