More than two decades ago, during a regular-season game in early March, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Travis Green pointed and yelled at Ottawa’s bench, and absolute chaos ensued. Darcy Tucker reached over Ottawa’s bench and started throwing haymakers at Chris Neil, spurring a brawl that saw fists flying from all directions, 74 penalty minutes awarded, and Tucker, Neil, Tie Domi and Shane Hnidy all slapped with game misconducts.
The Battle of Ontario was in peak form, sports fans. That brawl happened one season after the provincial rivals had faced off in three straight playoff series, and a season later, they’d go toe-to-toe again, with Toronto winning all four series.
Now, 21 years after the Maple Leafs and Senators last met in the playoffs, the Battle is back, and this 2025 edition features some familiar names and faces.
Green, who was pointing and yelling at the Senators’ bench all those years ago, is now standing on it and yelling from it as Ottawa’s head coach. Neil and former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson are among the players from that same era working in Ottawa’s front office. On Toronto’s side, there’s still a Domi on the ice — this time it’s Tie’s son, Max.
Given all the reminders of the past that accompany this series, let’s take a look at a big moment from each of the last four playoff editions of this Toronto-Ottawa grudge match before the Battle of Ontario resumes with Game 1 on Sunday night in Toronto.
- For the first time in 21 years, the Battle of Ontario returns to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Watch Sunday’s Game 1 between the Maple Leafs and Senators live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
- Broadcast Schedule
2000: Thomas the clutch heroThe first round of the Eastern Conference in 2000 was tied 2-2 as the series shifted back to Toronto. Game 5 headed to extra time, where an epic goalie battle broke out between Leafs netminder Curtis Joseph and Tom Barrasso for the Senators, with back-and-forth highlight-reel saves.
And then Toronto forward Steve Thomas went and did what he was known for: He came up clutch.
The play started a little more than 14 minutes into overtime, when Joseph made a bad giveaway behind his team’s net, and Ottawa nearly capitalized to end the game. Instead, Leafs defender Danny Markov sent the rebound to the boards, and it bounced to Toronto speedster Sergei Berezin, who took off up ice.
Thomas, who’d already scored late in the third to force OT, started tearing down the right wing with Berezin streaking up the left. Thomas outskated a Senators back-checker, and as Berezin sent a cross-ice pass, the forward known as ‘Stumpy’ extended his stick to deflect a backhand past Tom Barrasso, then threw his arms in the air in celebration.
It was one of six goals Thomas scored in the series, and one of 78 game-winners he netted in his career. More than 18 per cent of Thomas’ goals were winners. To put that in perspective: Alex Ovechkin (who else?) leads the game-winning category all-time in the NHL, and 15 per cent of the Capitals captain’s goals are winners.
Thomas was very clutch, indeed.
2001: Cujo spurs the sweep
The Leafs and Senators met in the first round for the second straight year, and Toronto was the heavy underdog: Seventh in the East (Ottawa was second) and with a 0-5 head-to-head record against the Senators in the regular season.
But Joseph came up big to rewrite the script. In Game 1, the Maple Leafs goaltender posted a 36-save shutout to lead his team to a 1-0 overtime win. In Game 2, Toronto was badly outshot, but again the Senators couldn’t beat Joseph, who made 37 saves to record his second straight shutout.
The 33-year-old goalie set the tone in this series.
The Maple Leafs went on to sweep the Senators, and Joseph’s first-round stats read like so: three goals on 123 shots, good for a sparkling .976 save percentage.
2002: Alfredsson’s controversial seven seconds
In the 2002 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Ottawa captain upped the temperature of this battle with two quick and impactful plays, and officially became Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of many Leafs fans. Game 5 was tied 2-2 in the late goings. With 2:10 to go, Tucker was trying to corral a puck along the boards in Toronto’s end when Alfredsson hit him from behind. Tucker fell to the ice, and he was still down when Ottawa sent the puck behind Toronto’s net, and Alfredsson headed in that direction before one-timing a saucer pass into the back of the net.
As Alfredsson and his teammates celebrated, Tucker remained down on the ice. Medical staff tended to him, boos rained down from the Toronto crowd, and Maple Leafs coaches and players protested that the referees had missed a hit from behind.
There was no call on the play, Alfredsson’s goal stood as the winner, and Ottawa was one win away from the franchise’s first Eastern Conference Final.
Game 6 of this series also featured a hit from behind, this time Ricard Persson on Domi, and Domi bled profusely from his eyebrow. Persson got a major for boarding and a game misconduct. Toronto tied the game on the ensuing power play, then won the game and the series.
Big hits led to big momentum shifts back in 2002.
2004: Ottawa turns the tide…ish
The last time these teams played in the post-season, mockery set the stage earlier in the season when Leafs captain Mats Sundin broke his stick during a game in Nashville, accidentally tossed it over the glass in frustration, then served his one-game suspension in Ottawa. That night, Alfredsson broke his stick during a 7-1 drubbing of Toronto and pretended to toss it over the glass.
When these teams met in the first round of the 2004 playoffs, Toronto had a 3-2 lead in the seven-game series as it headed back to Ottawa. The Senators’ record in do-or-die playoff games against Toronto wasn’t good, at 0-3.
This one went to overtime. Then, after 20 minutes, double overtime. That’s when Senators centreman Antoine Vermette carried the puck behind Toronto’s net, did a little spin move to lose Maple Leafs defender Aki Berg, skated out front and fired a cross-ice pass to Mike Fisher, who was wide open on the doorstep and banged it home past Ed Belfour.
Ottawa had made history, beating Toronto for the first time in a playoff elimination game. In post-game interviews, then-owner Eugene Melnyk told media: “We’re gonna kill ‘em,” as reporter Wayne Scanlan recalls.
Well, Ottawa didn’t. Toronto went on to win Game 7 easily, spurred by two soft first-period goals from Joe Nieuwendyk to pace the Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win.
And that’s all history now. Starting Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, it’ll be the Senators and Maple Leafs going toe-to-toe in the NHL playoffs again. Let the Battle begin.
