The Ottawa Senators entered Sunday night looking to win their first playoff game since 2017 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, things didn't go as planned.
The Senators dropped Game 1 to the Maple Leafs by a final of 6-2. Toronto managed to score two goals in each period.
Game 1 is always important to set the tone for the series. As the Senators fell by four goals, there were three things that jumped out from the Game 1 loss.
3. Undisciplined
Regardless of whether or not fans thought some penalties on the Senators shouldn't have been called, the penalties came back to bite the Senators. Three of the Maple Leafs' six goals occurred on the powerplay.
Two of them helped momentum swing in Toronto's favor when John Tavares and William Nylander scored in the second period. It put Ottawa in a 4-1 deficit heading into the third period.
Toronto had six powerplay opportunities in Game 1. In total, the Senators recorded 38 penalty minutes to the Maple Leafs' 18.
"We definitely have to stay out of the box," said Senators head coach Travis Green.
Travis Green-
— TSN 1200 Ottawa (@TSN1200) April 21, 2025
-thought we were nervous in the first 5 minutes.
-I thought 5on5 we played a pretty well.
-we can't take that many penalties. I thought they did a good job selling some of those calls.
Although Green did believe the Maple Leafs did sell some penalties, having 38 penalty minutes is way too high for a team to win a playoff game. Ottawa will need to be more disciplined for Game 2.
2. Playoff inexperience hit
Most of the players on the Senators did not have any playoff experience heading into Game 1. In particular, the core players on the roster. Players from Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Jake Sanderson, Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig all never played a playoff game.
While Batherson and Greig each scored a goal, the rest of the team had some struggles. Toronto's first two goals of the game in the first period came when Chabot was on the ice along with Nick Jensen.
The Maple Leafs' core has way better playoff experience even with having playoff woes. In Game 1, it was evident to Green.
"I thought we were nervous in the first five minutes," Green said.
1. "Playoff Ullmark" returned
Despite having regular season success in his three years with the Boston Bruins and his first year with the Senators over the past four years combined, Linus Ullmark has put up good regular season numbers, but has underperformed in the playoffs.
Heading into the 2025 playoffs, Ullmark had recorded a 3-6 record in 10 games with nine of them being starts along with a 3.59 goals against average and .887 save percentage. In Game 1, the struggles for Ullmark continued.
Ullmark allowed in at least four goals for the sixth time in 10 career playoff starts. It was also the second time in which Ullmark allowed in six goals in a playoff game. Those two numbers can be something to worry about.
Against a high powered Toronto offense, Ottawa will be relying on Ullmark to make big saves to keep them in the game. While Ottawa did take penalties to put Ullmark in a tough spot, Ullmark's playoff past is something for Ottawa to keep a major eye on. Even with a struggling Game 1, Green isn't worried about Ullmark.
"I like our goaltending," Green said. "I like out goalie a lot. He's won a Vezina. There's no elephant in our room."
Green “I like our goaltending. I like our goalie a lot. He’s won a Vézina. There’s no elephant in our room”
— TSN 1200 Ottawa (@TSN1200) April 21, 2025
Green, Ullmark and the Senators now get ready for Game 2 tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.