Mitch Marner shimmied left and right before flipping the puck over Linus Ullmark’s shoulder and celebrating his first goal of the playoffs with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates.
Although the Maple Leafs have had playoff heartbreak in the past, their experience paid dividends in their Game 1 win over the Ottawa Senators.
The big four of Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander combined for nine points in Sunday’s 6-2 win. Seven other Maple Leafs tallied one point in the win, which began with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Marner finding the back of the net in the first period.
‘I Can’t Say Enough About Matthew Knies and JT In Those Areas’: Maple Leafs Explode For 3 Power-Play Goals To Down Senators In Game 1The Toronto Maple Leafs exploded for three power-play goals against the Ottawa Senators in a 6-2 victory in Game 1 of their first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There were questions about how Toronto’s top players would play in this series. The big four combined for 12 points in their first-round exit last spring against the Boston Bruins and have, at moments, not produced at key times.
One player in particular, though, has been under the microscope more than any other on the Maple Leafs this season, and that’s Marner. He had three points in seven games against the Bruins last playoffs and entered this season without renewing his contract.
If there was anyone who needed a strong season, which he had, and a great start to the playoffs, it was him. One goal and two assists later, Marner is already tied for the most points among players in the playoffs, albeit it’s only one game.
‘He Made Big Saves’: How Anthony Stolarz Won Game 1 Of The Goalie Battle Against Senators’ Linus UllmarkAnthony Stolarz showed up and showed out against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario, which the Toronto Maple Leafs won commandingly, 6-2.
The experience of the 4 Nations Face-Off with Canada in February, where Marner tallied an overtime-winning goal and set up another overtime-winner against Team USA, helped him enter his ninth playoffs with Toronto with a sense of “calmness,” he said.
“That tournament was pretty quick. It was obviously very, very intense, and that’s kind of what playoffs is,” Marner admitted after taking a 1-0 series lead over the Senators.
“It kind of happens quickly, games go by fast, and then you’ve got to look forward to the next one and realize that it’s going to be even harder. So, yeah, I don’t know, just calmness and confidence, obviously, from that tournament, which helps.”
MITCH MARNER 🚨
BREAKAWAY GOAL! IT’S 2-0! pic.twitter.com/DHdwUKtdNb
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 20, 2025
It wasn’t just filling the back of the net, though, where Toronto’s playoff experience shone through. Ottawa took penalty after penalty in the game, allowing the Maple Leafs to score three power play goals, two more than they had all last series against the Bruins.
Entering the final minutes of the third period, the Maple Leafs had seven power plays to the Senators’ two. This game was proof that Toronto had more playoff experience than Ottawa.
“Like I said, we’re disciplined. We’re going to keep being disciplined. We’re going to play hard between the whistles, the right way, and keep being physical, but we’re not going to get involved in all the antics after the whistles or whatever,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said.
“Listen, refs call games, they call penalties for whatever reasons. I thought we checked well with our feet and our sticks tonight. We were hard on our net, doing things right to stay out of the box.
“You put yourself in the penalty box when you get on the wrong side of things and have to make desperate situations, and like I said, we’re pretty clean overall with our physicality part of the game. And we gotta keep doing that.”
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