The wait is finally over: the Ottawa Senators are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in eight years—and they’re diving in headfirst with a clash against their fiercest rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mar 15, 2025: Senators forward Ridly Greig lands a punch on Leafs forward Scott Laughton at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/91c90982-a68e-4177-b95e-e81883a3b188.jpeg] Mar 15, 2025: Senators forward Ridly Greig lands a punch on Leafs forward Scott Laughton at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images This marks the first playoff edition of the Battle of Ontario since 2004. Back then, the two clubs faced off four times between 2000 and 2004. The Senators came up short in each of those series, but as far as today's players are concerned, those battles might as well be a century ago. In fact, two key opponents from that era—Travis Green and Daniel Alfredsson—have joined forces behind the Senators bench, helping end what was the third-longest active playoff drought in the NHL. The Senators swept the season series 3-0. With the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs starting on Saturday, fans of both teams are looking to make plans. There are travel plans to make, parties to organize, and nachos to make. So when will the 2025 Battle of Ontario begin? Here's what we know: Sens Nation Podcast: Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy talk about Brady Tkachuk's injury. According to Senators President Cyril Leeder, who addressed the media the morning after the team clinched their playoff spot last week, Game 1 is likely to be this Sunday. "Not sure yet," Leeder told the media. "All we've been told from the league is that it's likely the East (schedule) will open on the Sunday (April 20). So that could be Sunday or Monday it'll open." Starting the Eastern Conference series on Sunday would make sense. Six of the seven games scheduled for Thursday night are all-Eastern matchups, including two involving the Sens and Leafs. So it wouldn't make sense to only give the East one day (Friday) off while giving the West (except for LA) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off. So letting Western teams open things up on Saturday would be logical. *Update: The NHL has announced with the Winnipeg Jets will host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 6pm ET, and the Dallas Stars will host the Colorado Avalanche at 8:30pm. A few hours later, they announced the full first round schedule. Here's how the East looks: Image credit: NHL [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d57ebd0b-69ac-488a-96d9-70e356773d0b.png] Image credit: NHL Sens Mile Meanwhile, Senators owner Michael Andlauer was downtown on Wednesday with Leeder, former Senator Chris Neil, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, and members of City Council. Andlauer got a good workout in, cranking up the “Sens Mile” flag to officially kick off Ottawa’s playoff run. (Image credit: City of Ottawa) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/52a748b6-78b9-4dab-90d9-a841fe508686.jpeg] (Image credit: City of Ottawa) Games 3 and 4 will take place at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, sometime in the mid to latter part of next week. According to Leeder’s media session last week, the Red Zone Plaza will be back in full swing, much like it was in 2017. “We’ve got plans for the CIBC Red Zone Plaza. We’re going to activate that. We’ve got to get that going. What are we going to do out there? We’ve got to hire bands. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. We’ll have some outdoor patios for restaurants. Do all the planning in the arena, game production. We want that to elevate a bit. What can we do differently? What can we bring into it to help that?” “There’s a lot of planning going on right now. And it’s a good problem to have. Our staff, as I said, are pretty excited about the opportunity to show what they can do at playoff time.” Playoff Ticket Sales Fans who sign up to be Sens season ticket holders for next season can still guarantee access to all home playoff tickets at a preferred rate. As for the general public, the Senators announced on Tuesday that single game tickets for Round 1 of the playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre will go on sale at noon on Thursday (April 17th). They'll be available for purchase at Ticketmaster.ca, with a limited quantity available for Game 3 and Game 4. Since the Leafs are the opponent, fans can count on paying a premium and plenty of competition from Leaf fans. Let the Battle begin.
