The Toronto Maple Leafs are not in crisis mode yet. It just feels that way after they failed to again finish off the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, losing Game 5 of their best-of-7 first-round playoff series 4-0 on home ice.
That's the second straight game the Maple Leafs didn't put the Senators away and move on to the second round after grabbing a 3-0 series lead. That in of itself isn't great, but no reason to panic. However, the fact that the Maple Leafs have lost 13 of their past 14 games when they could've eliminated a playoff opponent dating to 2018 is cause for more than just a little angst in Toronto.
They say history repeats itself. And each spring the past seven years, the Maple Leafs have lived up (down?) to that old saying.
Coming off a season-saving 4-3 overtime win Saturday, the Senators largely played a smart, patient road game in Game 5. They got great goaltending from Linus Ullmark , who stopped all 29 Toronto shots for his first career postseason shutout; Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle each had a goal and two assists; and Dylan Cozens scored a massive short-handed goal in the third period to extend Ottawa's one-goal lead to 2-0 and suck the life our of Scotiabank Arena.
Thomas Chabot opened the scoring at 3:46 of the second period, after Ottawa was out-shot 12-4 in the first. That single score held up until Cozens made it 2-0 with his shorty at 8:24 of the third. Tkachuk and Stutzle padded the final with a pair of empty-net goals in the closing minutes.
Now, it's back to Ottawa for Game 6 on Thursday for what should be a fascinating piece of theater.
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Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Let's get something straight. The Maple Leafs weren't bad in Game 5. They simply weren't good enough, though, to change the overriding narrative that they're incapable of putting teams away in the postseason.
History is not on their side. Posting a hard-to-fathom 1-13 record since 2018 when in position to eliminate their playoff opponent does not speak well of Toronto's core. Auston Matthews and Co. now shoulder the weight of another first-round failure if they somehow blow this series and lose to the Senators. Remember, only four teams in NHL history have blown a 3-0 series lead, the last being the San Jose Sharks against the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
"Everybody's fine in here," Matthews, Toronto's captain, said postgame . "The playoffs, it's a roller-coaster. It could be ups and downs. It's about staying as even-keeled as you possibly can and making adjustments when you need to."
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Late in the first period, Chabot was folded like an accordion when slammed from behind by Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly . It was a scary hit from behind by the boards that had Senators coach Travis Green screaming at the officials and looking for a five-minute major penalty. The Senators defenseman was slow to get up, but did under his own power, and Rielly was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking at 18:25.
Chabot returned later in the power play, and though the Senators failed to score, they soon grabbed a 1-0 lead. Thanks to Chabot.
The 28-year-old shook off the Rielly hit and wired his first career postseason goal through a Tkachuk screen and past Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz at 3:46 of the second period. It would hold up as the game-winning goal.
Chabot logged 18:49 TOI and was plus-3. He was out there helping kill off Ridly Grieg's senseless holding penalty early in the third period, when Cozens delivered the dagger by scoring short-handed.
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Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goalie two seasons ago with the Boston Bruins . So, he has a legit pedigree. It's why the Senators traded for Ullmark last offseason and then signed him to a four-year, $33 million contract extension in October.
What Ullmark hasn't been in his NHL career is a top-flight postseason goalie. And he lived down to that reputation in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 1. Since then, he allowed three goals in each of Games 2-4. He lost overtime decisions in Games 2 and 3, then made 31 saves to keep Ottawa's season alive with a Game 4 OT victory.
On Tuesday, Ullmark was sharp throughout, including a huge save on a John Tavares breakaway. He looked poised and was exceptionally good in helping Ottawa kill all three of Toronto's power plays. And Ullmark got plenty of help, too. Artem Zub , for example, blocked eight shots for the Senators in this one.
Ullmark's arc is pointing upward and that could spell danger for the Maple Leafs heading into a must-watch Game 6 on Thursday.
