2025 Playoffs Round 1, Game 5 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Saturday was a lot of fun, yeah? Well, maybe it wasn't fun the entire time, but the ending was pure elation. Senators fans have been waiting for a celebration like that for a long time, and it was incredible getting to see the scenes at the CTC and throughout the fanbase. It was just one win, but we'll celebrate anything we can get at this point. It's too bad that the series is still only 3-1 for Toronto because three of the four games have gone to overtime, and there's a realistic scenario where the series is tied or even 3-1 for Ottawa.

They have a long way to go to even have a chance to move on, but they just have to take things one game at a time. If they win tonight on the road in Toronto, all of a sudden, some people might begin to believe as they'd be heading back home to Ottawa for Game 6. They can't get ahead of themselves though, and tonight will be another very difficult and tight game. Just please don't give us another heart-stopping overtime ending.

Here are the projected lines for tonight (with Ridly Greig taking Matthew Highmore's spot):

Here are the lines for the Maple Leafs, with David Kampf being a placeholder for Auston Matthews:

Game Notes:

• After three sub-par games, Linus Ullmark finally had a .912 SV% last game while stopping 31 of 34 shots. He made some big saves late in the game, and I hope that confidence carries over to tonight.
• The Leafs go with the exact same lineup as Game 4, which did quite well in terms of controlling the play but less so with the final results.
• Fabian Zetterlund moves down to the fourth line again, as Travis Green doesn't want to break up the Greig/Pinto/Amadio line, and for good reason. It's too bad, though because I have really liked Zetterlund's game.
• John Tavares is set to play tonight despite being pulled out of the last game with a potential concussion after Artem Zub's questionable hit.
• Let's see if Ottawa can have a better start to the game on the road, as the first ten minutes in games one and two were incredibly poor. That might be the difference in winning and losing again, especially because we've seen how well they play after scoring the first goal of the game (35-6-0).
• Regardless of the result tonight, I hope you can all see this season as a success. I don't want to be okay with a first-round loss, but they've taken a huge step forward this year. It would be an even bigger step forward if they make this a real series, make the Maple Leafs sweat, or even do the damn thing by coming all the way back.

Where to watch/listen: CBC, TVAS, TSN1200 @ 7PM EST