A bottom-six forward scored the overtime winner in Game 2 and a stay-at-home defenseman matched his season goal total with the OT winner in Game 3. But the reason why the Toronto Maple Leafs have a 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators has less to do with depth scoring and unlikely heroes — and more to do with which team’s stars have shone the brightest.
Put simply, Toronto’s Big 4 has been better than Ottawa’s Big 4.
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have combined for five goals and 19 points in three games, while Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens have combined for three goals and six points.
In fact, Marner has as many points (six) as Ottawa’s Big 4 has combined.
In the playoffs, you need your star players to show up. You need them to be difference-makers. At the very least, they need to be noticeable.
Three games in, Tkachuk has shown up and been the offensive leader that he’s been all season long. But someone should send a search party out for Stutzle and Cozens, because they have been no where to be found in this series. At least, not where it matters, which is the scoresheet.
Stutzle led the Senators with 79 points in the regular season. He has no goals and one assist., who has no goals and one assist.
Batherson was second on the team with 26 goals and 68 points. He has one goal and one assist.
Cozens, who the Senators acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline specifically to be a difference-maker in the playoffs, has no goals and one assist.
Down 3-0 To Leafs, Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk Brings Up Red Sox's Reverse Sweep In 2004
The Ottawa Senators trail the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 after losing in overtime Thursday night.
For a team that waited seven long years to get to this moment, you’d think that they would have jumped at this opportunity and would have seized the moment with two hands. Instead, they look like they've completely seized up and froze after dipping their toes in water that was perhaps more frigid than they thought it would be.
If that criticism sounds a bit too harsh, get used to it Ottawa fans.
It’s the kind of talk that has followed around Toronto’s Big 4 for much of the past decade, as the team's highly paid talent continually underachieved and couldn’t get over the hump. Matthews, Marner and Nylander were criticized over and over again for not showing up when it matters, for disappearing when the games got more tighter-checking and physical.
'When You Give Him That, He's Never Missing': Auston Matthews Breaks Out Of Goal Rut In Maple Leafs' Series-Shifting Win Over Senators
Thirty-two seconds into the third period of Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators, Mitch Marner showed why he was Mitch Marner.
Last summer, Leafs fans practically tried to run Marner out of town after he managed just one goal and three points in seven games, while Matthews was out with a concussion and Nylander was dealing with migraines.
Now, with a team-leading six points in three games, Marner could probably get a key to the city if he wanted to. The same goes for Matthews, who "finally" broke out of a so-called "goal rut" by scoring his first of the series in Game 3.
That's sort of how it goes for star players in the playoffs. This is the time of year where reputations are cemented and legacies are forged. It's also the time of year where the expectations rise to levels that might not always be fair. At the end of the day, you just need to produce.
Senators Fall To Leafs Again 3-2 In Overtime Thursday, Now Trail Series 3-0
The Ottawa Senators' first playoff run in eight years has barely started, but they're already on the brink of elimination following another 3-2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series, it's time for Ottawa to get more out of Stutzle, Cozens and Batherson. Their season depends on it.
If they do, the narrative might start to change.
If not, Senators fans only have to look at how the Leafs have previously been treated to see how this off-season is going to look for Ottawa's Big 4.
The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live: Reaction To Maple Leafs' Game 3 Win Over Senators
Welcome to <i>The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live</i>, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.