2025 Playoffs Round 1, Game 2 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Let's just pretend that game one didn't happen, and game two is a chance to reset the series. A 1-1 tie heading back to Ottawa would put them in good shape, but being down 0-2 would put them on the ropes all of a sudden. Here were the lines this morning, although Nick Jensen and Ridly Greig will be playing instead of Travis Hamonic and either Nick Cousins or Matthew Highmore:

Game Notes:

• Linus Ullmark will need a big bounce-back game tonight. He wasn't the sole reason they lost, as they gave up too many high-danger chances, but he has to stop some of those if they want any chance at winning.
• Anthony Stolarz missed practice yesterday but is fine and will be starting in game two. He had one poor rebound that led to a goal, but was quite good overall for the Leafs on Saturday.
• While some of the penalty calls last game were quite weak, Ottawa also has to be more disciplined and act like they've been there before. It doesn't help when the penalty kill is atrocious, as allowing three quick powerplay goals on six tries is not going to cut it. I hope they get a reversal of fortunes in the penalty department.
• Will Brady Tkachuk look more like himself tonight? He's obviously not 100% healthy, and it might be tough for him to establish himself in this series.
• It looks like Ridly Greig is already in the heads of the Maple Leafs players:

• Teams that have gone down 0-2 in an NHL playoff series have come back just 12.3% of the time, so I'd say this matchup is incredibly important.
• Lastly, Ullmark had some philosophical thoughts for Ottawa's young players that will hopefully help them tonight:

Player Stats:

Team Stats: