Leafs set for another chance to bounce Sens; Auston Matthews (rest) skips practice

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (95) celebrates his goal against the Senators with Bobby McMann (74), Jake McCabe (22) and John Tavares (91) as Ottawa forward Tim Stutzle (18) and defenceman Artem Zub (2) skate away during third period NHL playoff action in Ottawa on Saturday, April 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

TORONTO — Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube didn’t like the hit.

John Tavares took an overtime elbow to the face from Ottawa Senators defenceman Artem Zub that went unpenalized Saturday.

“Puck’s nowhere near him,” Berube said. “Looks like a headshot to me.”

The Toronto centre was subsequently pulled from the game by the NHL’s independent concussion spotter to undergo a battery of tests. While that was happening in the bowels of a tension-filled Canadian Tire Centre, the Leafs got a four-minute power play with a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the first-round playoff series.

Tavares, a mainstay on a lethal five-forward unit, wasn’t available for the man advantage. Toronto still had a couple of great looks — Auston Matthews hit the post with the Battle of Ontario on his stick — but chess pieces had to be moved around the formation.

Ottawa survived the double-minor before Jake Sanderson kept his team alive with an OT winner from distance for a 4-3 victory that cut the series deficit to 3-1 heading into Tuesday’s Game 5 in Toronto.

Berube, who won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, learned long ago that dwelling on the past is wasted energy. The playoffs are about turning the page.

“You can’t change what referees call or miss,” he said Monday. “Mistakes happen with players. Mistakes happen with coaches. Mistakes happen with referees.”

An undetected hand pass cost Berube’s Blues a post-season game during their championship run.

“We can’t focus on a missed call or a bad call,” he added following practice. “We’ve got to focus on what we need to do.”

Tavares, who indicated the only lingering issue was some soreness, didn’t know the Leafs were on the power play — not that it would have mattered — as he was being looked at. Like his coach, the veteran forward wasn’t thrilled with the Zub sequence.

“Pretty obvious what happened,” he said. “Just move on from it.”

Leafs winger Mitch Marner didn’t understand the extra-time non-call: “Tough one … lucky enough Johnny’s fine and ready to go.”

Berube, however, didn’t take issue with the league’s concussion protocols, even in overtime of a potential post-season elimination game.

“You’ve got to make sure guys are OK,” he said.

Toronto, meanwhile, remains in a good spot up 3-1 in the series — the math shows almost 91 per cent of NHL teams ahead by that margin advance — but the screws have been tightened ever so slightly for an Original Six franchise with a painful playoff past.

The Leafs, who have won just one series in the league’s salary cap era, blew a 3-1 lead and lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in 2021.

“You want to use any experience you have to help benefit in the approach,” said Tavares, who was injured for much of that pandemic matchup four years ago. “The ebbs and flows of the game, the momentum and just how to stay the course.”

Tavares, who has one series victory in Toronto alongside Marner, Matthews and William Nylander, said Berube’s measured, methodical approach keeps the temperature down in pressure-packed moments.

“The identity and the messaging has been very consistent, been very strong,” Tavares said of the Leafs’ first-year coach. “We feel, and I think probably a lot of people recognize, the calmness, the composure, but the intensity that he brings.”

DAY OFF

Matthews skipped practice to rest following a full team day off. The absence raised some eyebrows from reporters, but Berube said there’s no concern for his captain.

“I have conversations with guys,” said the coach. “(If) they feel like they need a little more rest, I think it’s a good thing.”

No. 2 goaltender Joseph Woll (illness) also missed Monday’s skate.

DREAM BIG

Only four NHL teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series — the 1942 Leafs, 1975 Islanders, the 2010 Flyers and the 2014 Kings.

Ottawa forward Claude Giroux was part of the Philadelphia team 15 years ago that completed the daunting task against the Boston Bruins.

“We lost the first three games,” he told reporters in the nation’s capital before flying to Toronto. “But we felt like it could have gone either way. We weren’t changing anything. We just believed in our game.”

STAYING DISCIPLINED

Leafs forward Max Domi was assessed a roughing penalty for a shot to Senators centre Shane Pinto’s face before the puck was dropped on a draw Saturday. Ottawa scored on the ensuing power play.

“Gotta stay locked in,” Domi said. “Certainly didn’t mean to do that, but it’s one of those things where you’ve got to be aware.”

Berube, meanwhile, has preached discipline all series.

“Emotions getting involved,” he said. “That’s where you’ve got to control your emotions.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press