The Toronto Maple Leafs ended the first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators with a 4-2 victory Thursday night.
The Senators pushed the series into six games after falling 3-0, but Toronto entered the second round for the second time in 21 years.
As the handshake line formed after the final horn, the camera found Captain Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews shared a few words with his Senator Brady Tkachuk.
"I just told him that he is a great competitor, a great leader," Matthews said. "They will come back. They are a great team, a young team.
"I have nothing but respect for him. I've known him for a long time. He's a great man and a great player."
Tkachuk and Matthews respect it very much. #gosensgo
- Daily Sens (@everydaysens) May 2, 2025
Matthews said he told Brady that he was an evil competitor and that he knew the senses would come back. pic.twitter.com/t5cxawf3bm
Tkachuk made his debut in the playoffs after 512 regular season games, ending the playoffs with seven points in six games. He recorded four goals and three assists, including a second-cycle deflection in Game 6, reducing the Maple Leafs' lead by 2-1.
Meanwhile, Matthews matched Tkachuk's overall production with 7 points, including two goals and five assists. The LEAFS captain also added his name to the scoreboard in Thursday's series win.
The game itself struggles to last until the last few seconds of the regulations.
Matthews opened the scoring in the power game later in the first phase. William Nylander added Toronto's second goal in just 43 seconds in the second stage.
Before Max Pacioretty recovered Toronto's lead in less than six minutes, Ottawa linked goals from Tkachuk and David Perron to keep the game ahead with goals from Tkachuk and David Perron.
Nylander almost missed the game due to a mistake in the pre-match roster, winning with an empty net goal.
The Maple Leafs will face the Florida Panthers in the second round, while Tkachuk and the Senators enter the offseason after being knocked out in their first playoffs since 2017.
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