Rough-and-tumble history of the Battle of Ontario gets reset as Toronto, Ottawa meet in playoffs

TORONTO -- — John Tavares remembers watching as a young hockey player dreaming of the big stage. Auston Matthews has seen the highlights and heard the stories. The run-through-a-wall passion. The crackling atmosphere. The tension and drama.

The Battle of Ontario was among hockey’s biggest rivalries for a time. The dormant dogfight is set to reignite anew.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators open their first-round NHL playoff series Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena, the first postseason meeting between the provincial opponents since those heated clashes more than two decades ago.

“Great battles,” Tavares said. “Great teams going at it.”

The veteran center from just west of Toronto in Oakville was on the edge of his seat supporting the team in blue and white as the Leafs beat the Senators four times in the playoffs between 2000 and 2004, including two Game 7 victories.

“The intensity was pretty unbelievable,” Tavares added.

Matthews grew up in Arizona, but knows all about the history.

“The Battle of Ontario speaks for itself,” the Toronto captain said, according to Canadian Press. “Two very proud cities, proud franchises. We know what we’re in for.”

Toronto made the playoffs for a ninth straight year, but has just one series victory in the NHL’s salary cap era. Ottawa is back in the postseason for the first time since 2017 after finally emerging from a long rebuild.

“Something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, a playoff freshman. “Only fitting it’s the Battle of Ontario.”

Toronto won the Atlantic Division with firepower up front led by Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Chris Tanev and trade deadline addition Brandon Carlo bolstered the defense, while goaltender Anthony Stolarz had eight straight wins to end the regular season.

Toronto hired coach Craig Berube in hopes that his direct, north-south style will get a talented group with a long list of spring flops over its playoff hump.

“It’s about us,” said Berube, who hoisted the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “It really boils down to our team and the commitment and the battle we’ll need.”

The Senators are a young group led by Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle up front, with veterans sprinkled throughout a lineup that grabbed the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot. Budding star Jake Sanderson leads the defense but perhaps the biggest reason for the team’s playoff return is in goal, where Linus Ullmar has steadied things.

Ottawa coach Travis Green, who like Berube is in his first season, has brought accountability and structure to the Senators. He was part of the original Battle of Ontario in his playing days, including the infamous 2003 regular-season brawl that saw Leafs enforcer Darcy Tucker try to fight the Senators bench.

“It’s real,” Green said of the animosity. “There’s been a lot historical moments, historical series. It was very intense. It’s exciting for the province and exciting for the players.”

While the teams haven’t met in the postseason in years, recent fireworks include Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly's five-game suspension in February 2024 for a cross-check on Ridly Greig. Toronto fans have also continued the tradition of packing Ottawa's home rink.

Season series

The Senators were 3-0-0 against the Leafs during the regular season, including road victories of 3-0 and 4-2.

Last time

Toronto and Ottawa last met in the playoffs on April 20, 2004 — Sunday’s series opener marks the 21st anniversary — when Senators netminder Patrick Lalime allowed two goals to Joe Nieuwendyk in Toronto’s 4-1 victory in Game 7.

Players to watch

Matthew Knies, Toronto: The 22-year-old winger, who finished the regular-season schedule with 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points, is a key piece on the top line with Matthews and Marner.

Jake Sanderson, Ottawa: The 22-year-old blueliner registered 57 points (11 goals, 46 assists) in 2024-25. Sanderson quarterbacks the power play, makes a crisp first pass, and can skate his way out of trouble.