OTTAWA – The Battle of Ontario is back and we're all here for it.
On Saturday night, in their first rematch since Toronto beat Ottawa in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, we witnessed the highest-scoring game ever between the Senators and Maple Leafs.
Everything was there: warm-up between Thomas Chabot And Auston Matthewsgoals, fist fights and stars – stars on each side of the provincial rivalry.
But the Leafs are no longer the reliable big brother attacking little brother, although that did feel like that at times during their 7-5 win. Ottawa suddenly grew and plays at the pace of Ridley Greig when breaking away from an empty net.
For a long time Toronto Maple Leafs were the heroes of the regular season, while for nearly a decade the Senators dreamed of “meaningful games” at the end of the season. In those years, the main rivalry between the two teams was fueled mainly by the Senators and their fans. For the Leafs, Ottawa was just a minor nuisance.
But the dynamics of the rivalry have changed since the early 2000s, when the Senators were an experienced team but not stubborn enough, and Toronto was a brash, plucky and awkward team. The roles were reversed with the brash Greig, Brady Tkachuk and Nick Cousins; even Tim Stutzl there is some jam. Toronto misses Max Domi's father, Gary Roberts and Travis Green are now on the enemy side, replaced by Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and the ghost of Mitch Marner.
The Senators love beating Toronto: even ask owner Michael Andlauer, who, to memorialize that rivalry, declared Jan. 10, when the Leafs return to the Canadian Tire Center for the first time this season, to be “Greig's Boobs Night.”
Since 2005–06, at least one of the two teams has made the playoffs in 16 of 20 seasons. But in one season, both of them achieved this only three times. Last spring, as regional rivals battled it out in a hotly contested playoff series, Toronto defeated the Sens in six tight games, extending their historic 5-0 dominance in the Battle of Ontario playoff series.
Everything has changed in the last six months.
Mitch Marner left, and the ineffective Matthews appeared sporadically in Toronto. Nylander was great until he wasn't as the losses piled up, leading Craig Berube to say he was baffled by his team's woes: “Ask these guys, not me.” Toronto has been plagued by injuries to the back end of the team, with Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo missing significant time.
Yet despite the turmoil, the Leafs trail the Senators by just two points.
Meanwhile, the Sens' season also began with interruptions: their captain Tkachuk, as well as Chabot and Shane Pintowho was one of the standout players in the NHL in the 2025-26 season. Linus Ullmark fought tooth and nail, and the Senators found ways to lose, often outplaying teams while still capturing the L.
Neither team is currently in the playoffs. Both are determined to make it to the dance, as was evident Saturday night in the first matchup of the season between the two teams.
Both teams have star centers (Matthews/Tim Stutzle), a charismatic forward with NHL pedigree (Nylander/Tkachuk), and a collection of good-to-great complementary pieces.
For Toronto, Matthews had perhaps his best game of the season against Ottawa, recording nine shots and three points. We still don't know what to expect from Matthews these days. Is he the superstar who stood out against Ottawa, or a good but not great player who is currently averaging his fewest points since his rookie season?
It's been a similar story for many Leafs stars lately. Nylander opened the scoring against Ottawa but left the game. This is a world-class talent who has been feuding with his coach and recently lost eleven matches in a row without a point. With Marner gone, the core four are no longer there and the aging Tavares is slowly losing his edge.
Meanwhile, Morgan Rielly has not had a great season, although he showed what he can still do on Saturday night by setting up Matthew Nice for a beautiful winning goal.
Match Rielly with Ottawa's best defenseman, Jake Sandersonwho gradually developed into one of the best defenders in the league.
While many of the Leafs' top players are declining this season, the Sens' best are rising. Stuetzle developed into one of the best centers in the game when he was just 23 years old. He scored one of the most beautiful goals with one of the most disgusting moves you will ever see on Hockey Night in Canada.
Finally, Ottawa has depth with Pinto and Claude Giroux on the third line, as well as Chabot's growth as an elite second-pairing defenseman.
Tkachuk was out for most of the season due to injury, but is now getting back into shape.
If you look at the analytics, Ottawa's skaters are clearly superior to Toronto's players this season. Ottawa ranks fourth in expected goals percentage at five-on-five; Toronto 22 yearsnd. Ottawa ranks sixth in shot differential; Toronto 30 yearsth.
What Toronto had that Ottawa didn't was elite goaltending, which was probably the biggest difference when the two teams met in the playoffs last season and again on Saturday night. Ottawa ranks dead last in team save percentage this season, while Toronto ranks 15th. Joseph Wall And Dennis Hildeby were great, and the injured Anthony Stolarz beat Linus Ullmark in the playoffs last season.
Saturday's game ended with two shots that Ullmark shouldn't have missed. “I didn't like those two goals… so I put Leevi (Merilainen) on the field,” Travis Green said of why he switched goalies on the second goal.
Ullmark ranks last in the NHL in goals scored above expectations this season.
If Ottawa isn't stopped, this feud could be moot.
Outside of this season, both teams are in very different places. The Senators locked away their core for the next few years, all of them between twenty and twenty-five years old. Stutzl and Sanderson signed team-friendly contracts until at least 2030. There are many reasons for hope over the next few years.
Admittedly, the Sens don't have a first-round pick this season, but the Leafs won't have one until 2028. Toronto has few prospects, and unless Matthews becomes an MVP-caliber player, the window for contention may be over. But he's a player who scored 69 goals this season and he's not yet 30 years old.
There's a way to Belif in Toronto.
Toronto has a proven track record of making the playoffs nine straight seasons. Ottawa is still staying the course. The Leafs are also a large market team that can easily spend money to a cap that will rise in the coming years, while Ottawa, as a small market team, will have to be careful and may not be able to spend money at the upper echelons.
Of all people, it was Troy Stetcher, with his passionate celebration after the buzzer sounded for Toronto's victory on Saturday as a fight ensued around him, who personified the passion of the Battle of Ontario.
This was not just a regular season game. It was more.
We know what Ontario hockey fans want for their fans: hockey in April of every year.
