Senators Still Believe They Can Beat Maple Leafs

The Ottawa Senators may be down 3-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they don't feel out.

Apr 24, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) shoots the puck past Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit (2) in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images / Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

The Ottawa Senators are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017 but are on the verge of being swept by the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. After three games in the Battle of Ontario, the Senators find themselves down 3-0 and the odds stacked well against them.

Only four teams in NHL history ever come back from down 3-0 in a series to win, and the Senators believe they can be the fifth.

According to Claire Hanna on TSN, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and the rest of the team aren’t giving up hope quite yet.

“Brady also mentioned after the game that this team still has a lot of belief,” Hanna said. “He brought up the fact that he had recently watched the documentary where the [Boston] Red Sox were down 3-0 to the [New York] Yankees, came back, and won in Game 7. The team is going to have to have that belief if they want to beat the Leafs.”

In 2004 the Red Sox famously crawled back from down 3-0 to the rival Yankees on the way to their first World Series championship in 86 years.

Tkachuk will look to channel his inner David Ortiz as the Senators have their backs against the wall.

“Claude Giroux, after the game, mentioned that the Senators, on a couple different occasions this season have won over four games in a row,” Hanna said. “There is the belief that they can do it.”

Hanna went on to mention that Giroux was part of one of the four NHL teams to ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit. In 2010, a 22-year-old Giroux helped lead the Philadelphia Flyers back from down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins.

“The belief is strong amongst these veterans,” Hanna said. “It’s not like the Leafs have any demons when it comes to the playoffs.”

The Maple Leafs may be in the driver’s seat, but the Senators are looking for a chance to make history. The Senators aren't giving up hope and they believe they can take advantage of a Maple Leafs team that has historically struggled to close out playoff series.

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