It was that familiar feeling of tension that Toronto Maple Leafs fans at Scotiabank Arena have felt before. The crowd went silent when Dylan Cozens finished off a 2-on-1 opportunity to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-0 lead midway through the third period in Game 5. Reality set in, when Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk scored empty-net goals to defeat Toronto 4-0 and force a Game 6 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Thursday.

After winning the first three games and being an overtime away from a sweep on Saturday, the Senators have planted a seed of serious doubt in their opponent. Dating back to 2017, when core players Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander began a string of nine consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs have fallen to 1-13 in games where they had a chance to close out a series.

Could the Leafs be upset again? They've been through it before.

"I don’t think there’s any panic in this room," Matthews insisted. "We won three, they win two, it’s the ups and downs of playoffs. We’ve been here before and we’re just going to put our best foot forward, go into the next game with confidence."

‘Don’t Think There’s Any Reason To Change’: Why The Maple Leafs Are Sticking With Anthony Stolarz In Goal Following His Worst Game Of The Season Despite a shaky start in Ottawa for Game 4, the Toronto Maple Leafs are sticking with goaltender Anthony Stolarz in the blue paint for Game 5 on Tuesday. Head coach Craig Berube confirmed pre-game that the 31-year-old will once again get the start as the Leafs look to eliminate the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Toronto's top line, consisting of Matthews, Marner and Matthew Knies, started this series hot. But in Game 5, they were on the ice for the evening's only even-strength non-empty-net goal. Matthews, good on faceoffs for much of the series, lost one in the defensive zone before Thomas Chabot scored past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

"Not enough speed through the neutral zone with that line and then creating things in the offensive zone off that. Like, they were just a little bit late on things and didn't create enough stoppages in the offensive goal," Berube said of the line. "It was one-and-done too much for me with that line tonight in the offensive zone."

For the second consecutive game, the Leafs gave up a shorthanded goal. After blowing a chance to sweep the series following a double-minor penalty issued to Ottawa early in Game 4's overtime, Toronto's power play has run dry.

"We had our looks, didn’t capitalize on them," Marner said. "That’s how it goes sometimes."

The Senators, meanwhile, went from a listless team through the first three games to carrying all the momentum back home for a chance to even up the series. We're not at a Game 7 yet. But the loss carried a weight, echoing the messaging consistent with past Maple Leafs failures.

'Just Keep Going': How The Maple Leafs Will Combat The Seed Of Doubt In Game 5 Against Senators As the Toronto Maple Leafs walked into the dressing room following their 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, they could have thought either of two ways: it was only one loss, or their sky was beginning to fall.

Berube addressed the team following the Game 5 loss as he has done after every game in the playoffs.

"Stick with it. We're up 3-2 in the series," Berube said of his message. "There's a lot of ups and downs. We need some composure. And we've got to stay composed and stay poised."

"We'll figure out some things and be better next game that we'll work on. That's what it's about. We'll work on some things and we'll be better next game."

'I Certainly Didn't Mean To Do That': Maple Leafs' Max Domi Reflects On Penalty Leading To Senators's Game 4 Power Play Goal It took the Ottawa Senators one minute and four seconds to score on the first power play of Game 4 on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs have a history of playoff disappointments, but nothing cut deeper than Toronto's 2021 team that won the pandemic-necessary 'North Division' consisting of only Canadian opponents. An overwhelmingly favored Maple Leafs team dominated through the first four games and had a 3-1 series lead before losing the next three in one of the biggest playoff collapses in recent team history.

The Leafs are nowhere near that... Yet. And Game 6 will be a true test for Berube to see if his messaging can rouse the core from a long history of playoff malaise.

'Everybody's Grinding Right Now': Auston Matthews Explains Absence From Maple Leafs Practice Ahead Of Game 5 Against Senators After <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-not-worried-as-auston-matthews-misses-practice-joseph-woll-battles-illness">a rest day</a> on Monday, Auston Matthews stepped onto the ice before the Toronto Maple Leafs' optional morning skate ahead of Game 5 against the Ottawa Senators.

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