The 2024-25 NHL regular season is three weeks away from ending. Not many people would've predicted the Ottawa Senators would be in a playoff position at the moment with 79 points, but they do.
Tonight's game against the Detroit Red Wings is another pivotal game to gain ground on teams and remain in the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The franchise is knocking on the door to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
For the Senators' most hated rival the Toronto Maple Leafs, they've been seeking to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967. What fans might not know, is the Battle of Ontario could be a possibility in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, and one writer recently gave reason why the Senators are an opponent the Maple Leafs should want to face.
Why Maple Leafs would want to face Senators in playoffs
While the Senators are currently in the first Wild Card spot, the Maple Leafs are in first place in the Atlantic Division with 89 points. If the season ended today, the Battle of Ontario would happen in the first round of the 2025 playoffs. It would be the fifth time the Battle of Ontario would happen in the playoffs.
Yesterday, Justin Bourne of Sportsnet wrote an article titled "Who do the Maple Leafs want to face in the first round," and in that article Bourne gave three teams the Maple Leafs would want to face with the Senators being named one of them.
In the article, Bourne said the Senators are "clearly the team the Leafs would want the most in round one." The biggest factor would have to do with the Senators' playoff inexperience.
Yes, important core pieces on the Senators don't have playoff experience. From Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Drake Batherson and Artem Zub. However, that doesn't mean the Senators don't have quality players who have played in the playoffs.
Claude Giroux has played in the playoffs nine times in his career, and one of those years included playing in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals with the Philadelphia Flyers. Michael Amadio and David Perron have each won a Stanley Cup championship. Nick Jensen has also played in the playoffs five times with the Washington Capitals.
Bourne also stated that the Senators "aren't particularly threatening." One of the last things Bourne stated about the Senators is the team's energy and excitement would "probably lead to chances and mistakes."
Sure, the Maple Leafs have an offensive juggernaut with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and Matthew Knies, but the Senators have played well against the Maple Leafs in the regular season, which might result in a bad matchup for the Maple Leafs.
Over the past two seasons, the Senators have won six of the seven games against the Maple Leafs. This season, the Senators swept the three-game season series. Two of the wins for the Senators came in Toronto, so the Senators can have a road warrior mentality when it comes to playing in Toronto.
An area for concern for the Senators can be goaltending. Linus Ullmark has struggled in his playoff career with the Boston Bruins with recording a 3-6-0 record, but Ullmark earned two wins against the Maple Leafs this season. Both wins were in Toronto and one was a shutout win.
History may not be on the Senators' side with losing all four playoff meetings against the Maple Leafs in franchise history, but the Senators have the ability to change that in 2025 if the Senators are matched up against the Maple Leafs in round one.