Apr 29, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube watches play against the Ottawa Senators in the third period during game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn ImagesKanata, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs have another chance to close out their series with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday when they visit Canadian Tire Centre for Game 6 of their first-round playoff series.
After jumping out to a 3-0 series lead, the Maple Leafs were close to putting the Senators away when Game 4 went to overtime. But Jake Sanderson put the party on hold with his shot from the point that beat Toronto's Anthony Stolarz. The Sens followed that up with a 4-0 win in Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena, firmly planting a seed of doubt in Toronto's hopes for second-round action.
With the Leafs being 1-13 in close-out games during the playoffs dating back to 2018, how is the club dealing with the pressure?
"I haven't really thought about it but winning a series is a big deal," Maple Leafs star William Nylander said. "We've only done it once before, so that's something we want to do."
If there is any history on Toronto's side, it's that the one time before was also on the road in Game 6 when the Leafs defeated the Lightning in overtime in the first round of the 2023 playoffs after failing to close out their series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube dismissed any notion of bringing up the team's past playoff failures, but it's clear he's tried to get his players to think about everyone else in the locker room individually as they prepare for what could be a another hostile environment in Canada's capital.
"To me, the only pressure is the guy beside you in the locker room, your teammate," Berube said. You don't want to let them guys down. You want to do your best. Outside pressure, that's just talk.
"You guys are doing your job and fans and everything else, but you've got to try to block that out as best you can and focus on your game, focus on your teammates. That's what you want to do.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews echoed those sentiments.
"The main focus is the guys who are in the moment, just playing for one another. That's all there is to it," Matthews said. "All the outside noise and all that stuff, it's just what it is. It's not something you really focus on at all."
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