But, alas, this is an elimination game, and these are the Maple Leafs, and nothing comes easy in late April.
Even when the second round — and a week’s rest — is so close you can taste it.
And so, when the visiting side battled back from 0-2 and 2-3 deficits in Game 4 at Canadian Tire Centre to trigger a third straight next-goal-wins nailbiter, a Drake Batherson double minor for high-sticking Chris Tanev some 200 feet from the Senators’ net was the chance to finish the job.
The hottest power-play in hockey had 240 seconds to punch its ticket to Round 2. Eight shots and one pinged post were not enough, however.
The brooms remained in the closet, and those pesky Senators won the special-teams battle and reversed momentum.
Jake Sanderson sifted a point shot past a well-screened Anthony Stolarz to seal a 4-3 overtime victory and force this sucker back to Toronto.
A seed of doubt or simply a minor nuisance?
The Maple Leafs — despite falling to 1-12 in potential series-clinching games in the Auston Matthews–Mitch Marner–William Nylander era — remain unrattled.
“Not going to look at it too much. Didn’t get a bounce. Could have ended it. Hit a post,” coach Craig Berube sloughed off. He didn’t see any resurrected demons.
“I don’t think that was the case tonight. I thought our team played extremely hard, did a lot of great things. We gave up four shots in two periods (the second and third). I mean, we played hard.”
The Senators pushed early to build a lead and crank the volume on the black-and-red crowd speckled with more blue-and-white sweaters. But the defend-first Leafs showed more process than panic in their response.
Waiting for breakdowns to convert on a trio of beautiful but varied goals by John Tavares (tip), Matthew Knies (breakaway roof job), and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (snipe from distance).
Saturday’s crowd was savage: “Matthews is balding!” and “Marner’s leaving!” taunts from the locals were countered by a Leafs fan holding aloft a handmade “PINTO BETS LEAFS ML” sign in the lower bowl.
At times, the on-ice action was equally savage.
Artem Zub delivered a sneaky hit on an unsuspecting Tavares that sent the former captain to the dressing room.
Tavares returned eventually, but not until after that pivotal power-play, forcing Berube to throw Morgan Rielly on the first unit.
Tavares was not made available post-game, and not a single Leafs player admitted to seeing the hit that took one of their most important teammates out during a critical juncture.
Berube did not sound concerned, however, and the club struck an optimistic tone as the Senators gained a foothold.
“They’re fighting for their lives here,” Knies acknowledged.
“We played a hell of a game, just being able to bounce back from 2-0, 3-2. I thought we had a lot of chances in overtime. So, we like where our game is at,” said Anthony Stolarz, after his first defeat in 12 games.
“Boils down to just making one more save on my end. But all in all, I thought it was a really good effort by the guys.”
Don’t complain publicly.
Focus on Game 5 Tuesday, when these Maple Leafs will have a chance to clinch their first series on home ice.
“We’re just excited to get back after it. We put ourselves in such a great spot,” Knies said.
“We just got to follow through with it.”
• Knies on his unassisted, adrenaline-fuelled breakaway goal at the end of a long shift:
“I saw that the D were kind of talking there. I think they miscommunicated a little bit on who’s going to go where. So, I thought I’d jump and just poke it ahead of them because I thought I had more speed. Then just tried to put it upstairs.”
• Shot totals are a wonderful predictor of the outcomes of this series, but not the way you might think. The Maple Leafs did not outshoot the Senators in any of the first three games, and they’re fine with that.
No team had a better record when outshot this season than Toronto in the regular season (37-14-3), and the Leafs are 3-0 in the post-season under those circumstances.
Even wilder: Their record is better when they’re getting outshot than outshooting their competition.
That held true Saturday, as the Leafs outshot the Sens for the first time (34-21) but lost.
• The Toronto Marlies got swept in the first round of the AHL postseason by the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday. Expect an influx of black aces at Maple Leafs skates.
• Simon Benoit is out here doing proper press conferences, getting lobbed more questions than Auston Matthews, and multiple pre-game interviews for TV. For 48 hours in Kanata, the third-pair defenceman became the centre of attention.
“I’m not used to it, that’s for sure,” Benoit smiles. “It’s fun. We have the greatest fans out there, so you just have to embrace it.”
Well-wishers have been blowing up Benoit’s phone since he played hero Thursday night.
“Means a lot to me,” the Laval, Que. native says. “It’s fun to see that old teammates, old coaches, old friends, they still keep track of what you’re doing out there.
“It’s all good. All love, all good. It touched me.”
• Scott Laughton has been mixing it up with feisty Claude Giroux, with whom he played eight seasons in Philadelphia.
“I know exactly what type of player and competitor he is,” Laughton reasons. “We’ve had a couple skirmishes, and that’s what it is. Playoffs brings that out in you. I think he’s a Hall of Famer and a special player. You need to limit his time and space. He sees the ice so well. He makes plays. He can shoot the puck. He does everything.”
Berube knows Giroux well and can’t help but enjoy the clash.
“I’m sure they’re good friends, which I know they were. But playoff hockey, it changes, right?” Berube says. “You’re trying to do what you can to disrupt the other team.”
