Anytime a rivalry starts with the phrase “The Battle of…”, you know it’s going to be a good one.
We won’t have a Battle of Alberta in this year’s playoffs, however, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs will battle in the first round in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2004.
As an Ottawan, it’s a pretty exciting time when the postseason rolls around and the team is involved. There’s just a different vibe to the sleepy town. This postseason will be the first time since 2017 that the Senators have made it, where they came within a goal of making the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in a decade.
Since then, it’s been mediocre play by the team from the Nation’s Capital. They went through a rebuilding period for several seasons before pushing and ultimately falling short of a playoff spot for the past few seasons. That includes two sizable moves, trading their first-round picks for Jakob Chychrun and Alex DeBrincat, neither of whom are on the Senators any longer.
Everything came around for the Senators in 2024-25, a big reason for that is because they acquired netminder Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins. Now, they look like a team that can do some damage in the postseason.
Then you have the Maple Leafs. The last time the Senators made the postseason was the first time the Leafs made the playoffs in a full season since 2004, more on that postseason later. Since then, the Leafs have had a habit of getting knocked out in the first round, usually in the final game of the series.
The 2016 postseason saw them fall in six games to the Washington Capitals, followed by back-to-back Game 7 losses to the Boston Bruins in 2018 and 2019. Thanks to the pandemic, they played in a qualifying round against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020 postseason, falling in five games.
In the All-Canada conference in 2021, they had a 3-1 series lead over the Montréal Canadiens, but blew it and fell in seven games. Next up was the 2022 postseason, where you guessed it, they fell in seven games – this time to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
For the first time since 2004, the Leafs won a first-round matchup, defeating the Lightning in six games. They proceeded to fall to the Florida Panthers in five games because their fans really wanted Florida.
In the 2024 postseason, the Leafs returned to their roots, falling in seven games to the Bruins. Things seem different this season, as they finished at the top of their division and will have home-ice advantage to at least the third round if the Washington Capitals make it that far.
Disregarding the series between the Leafs and the Original Senators back in the 1900s, the Leafs and Sens have played four series, all around the early 2000s. In the 2000 postseason, the Leafs defeated the Senators in six games, which also happened to be the last time they won the division (excluding the pandemic season in 2020-21). The two teams met again in 2001, with the Leafs sweeping the Senators in four games.
The 2002 postseason showdown between the teams was far more competitive, as they met in the second round. After a seven-game war with the New York Islanders, the Leafs were able to defeat the Senators in Game 7, before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals.
And then came the 2004 postseason. For a long time, it was the last time the Leafs had made the postseason in a regular season, as well as the last time they won a playoff round. The two teams met in the first round, playing seven games with the Leafs coming out on top for the fourth time in five seasons.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.