Chris Tanev celebrates his goal with teammates on Thursday night. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/142e8856-28e3-4119-89d0-a22a9f4827e8.jpeg] Chris Tanev celebrates his goal with teammates on Thursday night. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images) The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators faced the prospect of playing nothing games on Thursday night. Both had every reason to simply mail it in and avoid injuries facing two-goal deficits in the third period, but both roared back for victories. Now bring on [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/ottawa-senators-vs-toronto-maple-leafs-when-will-the-2025-battle-of-ontario-begin] the Battle of Ontario [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/now-the-real-fun-starts-maple-leafs-taking-inward-approach-to-preparation-against-senators-in-playoffs]. In order to win, the Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] will have to hope their pre- and regular-season mastery of the Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] over the course of the regular season continues. The Leafs must ensure their stars don't get pushed out of the series and are rendered invisible, something that has had a history of happening. The Leafs are the NHL's hottest team down the stretch, and only the St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] had more points after the 4 Nations Face-Off. But that and 12 dollars will get you a coffee at Starbucks. As Chris Tanev and Scott Laughton [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/that-was-kind-of-my-era-of-hockey-scott-laughton-ready-to-write-his-own-chapter-with-maple-leafs-in-battle-of-ontario-revival] said, "Now the fun starts." Today's video column has more. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
