The Ottawa Senators are back at home for game six of their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for pregame festivities. The CIBC Red Zone will once again be open early prior to puck drop beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. The Plaza will remain open all game for the first time this series, as fans without tickets are invited to join for a watch party outside Canadian Tire Centre. Like the past two games, the Molson Beer Garden will have $5 beer deals for fans to enjoy alongside $2 hot dog deals at the Schneiders Grill. Sign making, music, hardest shot contests and photo ops will all be amongst the activities available at the CIBC Red Zone. Alongside the Red Zone, several restaurants and bars around the Canadian Tire Centre will be opening early. Bert’s Bar, Legacy Social Lounge and Club CIBC will all be open at 4:30 p.m., while Royal Oak and Ice Level Lounge will open at 5:00 p.m. Join now!Guarantee Access to Playoff Tickets follow the Ottawa Senators' socials and on the web Keep up to date with Sens360: https://www.nhl.com/senators/sens360/content/ Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators Engage with the Senators on X: @Senators Like the Senators on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ottawasenators introduced the Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure (LOCAL Infrastructure) Act of 2025 The legislation would amend the federal tax code to restore state and local governments’ ability to use advance refunding to manage bond debt and reduce borrowing costs for public infrastructure projects “The LOCAL Infrastructure Act would amend the federal tax code to give more financial flexibility to state and local governments Restoring advance refunding would help community leaders manage their existing debts and allow for more investment to improve their existing infrastructure Local leaders know what their states need best and it’s important to give them the resources to ensure their community’s success,” said Senator Wicker “As state and local governments work to improve their communities and plan for the future our bipartisan bill will support their efforts to revitalize infrastructure and improve quality of life for all Coloradans,” said Senator Bennet “From improving our roads and bridges to modernizing our hospitals and schools this legislation will help create stronger and more resilient communities.” “SIFMA would like to thank Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) for their continued leadership on municipal bonds Advance refunding is an important tool which permits state and local governments to save billions of dollars in interest costs by refinancing their outstanding debt to a lower interest rate Our nation benefits by allowing for a robust capital market to flourish which in turn helps local communities build affordable infrastructure specifically related to their needs Reinstating the prior tax-exemption for advance refunding bonds is essential to making that happen and the LOCAL Infrastructure Act does just that,” said SIFMA President Kenneth E "Tax-exempt municipal bonds are a critical tool enabling counties to finance infrastructure projects for our communities” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase “The LOCAL Infrastructure Act would restore the tax-exemption of advance refunding bonds and give counties the flexibility to respond to market conditions and lower borrowing costs for residents Counties applaud Senators Wicker and Bennet for their bipartisan leadership and urge swift passage of this legislation."  Advance refunding allows state and local governments to refinance outstanding municipal bonds to more favorable borrowing rates or conditions before the end of the initial bond term on a tax-exempt basis This process is very similar to how a homeowner may refinance the mortgage on their property to lock in a lower interest rate The federal tax-exempt debt could be refinanced only once but local communities would be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates to generate additional savings on existing bonds Local governments could reinvest these savings to fund infrastructure Advance refunding has saved state and local governments billions of dollars over decades but has been unavailable to state and local governments since 2017 Click here to read a one-page outline of the legislation Click here to view the full text of the legislation Home » News » Sens McCormick sponsor legislation to boost affordable housing supply Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced a bill in the senate that is designed to increase the supply of affordable housing The bipartisan Housing Affordability Act seeks to do this by raising the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) outdated multifamily loan limits we need to make building homes easier and cheaper But outdated regulations are holding us back,” Gallego said “By updating a nearly two-decade old loan limit the Housing Affordability Act will expand access to affordable loans for building multifamily housing and ultimately bring down housing costs.” The FHA’s multifamily loan limits have not been updated since 2003 the dollar volume of HUD-issued multifamily Firm Commitments has plummeted almost all communities are now treated as “high-cost areas.” the statutory limits and inaccurate index combine to strangle urgently needed multifamily housing projects “One of the biggest obstacles to widespread affordable housing in Pennsylvania and across the country is a lack of supply,” McCormick said “By making a long overdue increase to the FHA’s multifamily loan limits we can incentivize the construction of more apartment buildings and increase access to housing for American families.” The Housing Affordability Act would address this by amending the National Housing Act to raise statutory loan limits It would also update the inflationary adjustment index from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the Price Deflator Index of Multifamily Residential Units Under Construction This is viewed as a more accurate index to capture the true cost of multifamily housing construction “The Housing Affordability Act would make a long overdue update to FHA’s multifamily insurance programs to capture the true cost of apartment construction and immediately leverage private capital for new affordable homes,” Bill Killmer senior vice president of legislative and political affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) “MBA appreciates Senators Gallego and McCormick’s commitment to remove unintentional and outdated regulatory barriers that constrain and delay workforce housing development across the country.” OTTAWA, Ontario -- The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Battle of Ontario and moved on to the second round of the NHL playoffs Max Pacioretty scored the tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a series-clinching 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round Eastern Conference matchup William Nylander had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final seconds, and an assist, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal in the first period for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves "We came in here with a little bit different mindset," Toronto coach Craig Berube said "A little bit more aggressive and on our toes." The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5 The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6 "Nothing else really matters," Matthews said Toronto improved to 2-13 in potential series-clinching games since 2018 and advanced in the postseason for only the second time in more than two decades "We're playing for each other," Stolarz said Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves "I really believed that we were going to come back and win the game," Tkachuk said With the score tied at 2, Pacioretty -- a heathy scratch to start the series -- scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side It was Pacioretty's first goal of the playoffs who tore his right Achilles tendon twice in less than 12 months before dealing with a couple of injuries this season contemplated retirement more than a few times "I thought that I was done playing a number of times," the 36-year-old forward said But there's a lot of resilient guys in this organization "Guys like that motivate me to keep going." Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz's back to make it 2-2 "That's a hard-earned series," Matthews said The Senators defeated the Maple Leafs 4-0 in Game 5 to extend their season for at least another 48 hours Ottawa forced a Game 6 at home on Thursday after trailing in this series 3-0 Linus Ullmark made 27 saves to earn the first playoff shutout of his career Read more below about Ottawa's victory April 30, 2025 at 12:01 AM EDTJulian McKenzie·Staff Writer, SenatorsTkachuk: 'We’re not going away easy'Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas asked Brady Tkachuk if he thinks the Senators have cast a seed of doubt in the minds of Leafs players Our season’s (been) on the line the last two games We’re going to do everything it takes and leave everything we have out there.” stop us if you’ve heard this before: In a game that mattered Any team that is built top-heavy with some of the best offensive weapons in the league needs those weapons to fire in the biggest games John Tavares and Morgan Rielly put together a grand total of zero points in Game 5 The Leafs’ top players had chances to convert and take steps toward putting this series to bed getting chances and chances alone isn’t something this core should be proud of The once white-hot Leafs power play has cooled off and is now 0-for-7 since the start of Game 4 The Leafs were given a gift when Greig took a needless holding penalty early in the third period They sent that gift back by allowing a shorthanded goal And now it’s worth wondering if it’s good enough to win a series against a wild-card team Jake Sanderson was the best defenceman on the ice for either team on Tuesday On a night when the Sens’ offence wasn’t generating a lot Sanderson upped his game on the defensive end He broke up plays on the penalty kill and pushed opposing forwards to the perimeter Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews particularly struggled with Sanderson Their Corsi ratings were each below 50 percent with Sanderson on the ice Matthews’ rate hovered below 30 percent for parts of the game while Marner only had an expected goal share of 0.24 with him on the ice Sanderson led all Sens defencemen in ice time also deserves some love with seven shot blocks Many Sens players deserve credit for their defending The Sens struggled with the Leafs power play in the early goings of this series the Leafs are 0-for-7 with the man advantage When Ridly Greig took a third-period penalty But then Adam Gaudette rushed up ice and fed Cozens for a short-handed goal — the Senators’ second in as many games With Dylan Cozens' shorthanded goal tonight and Shane Pinto's in Game 3 the Senators have become just the fourth team on record to score a shorthanded goal in consecutive games when facing elimination in a series The first three teams to do so were the 1988 Capitals in the division semifinals the 1998 Maple Leafs in the division semifinals and the 2024 Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final Brady Tkachuk scored an empty net goal to make it 4-0 tonight in Game 5 The series shifts to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa for Game 6 Tkachuk told the fans that the team would be back for Game 6 On what he expects for the Game 6 atmosphere fans throughout the arena seemed to get a clear look inside the minds of the Leafs The home side seemed stressed and played like it the Leafs can pluck through the neutral and offensive zones with ease they made edgy and indecisive plays with the puck Lorentz’s decision to skate into Linus Ullmark on a two-on-none instead of passing or shooting the puck spoke to those anxious feelings as the game went on and the Leafs were unable to find the back of the net A raucous crowd after puck drop grew quiet The writing on the wall grew clearer with every shift There were boos heard midway through the third period after the Leafs allowed the second goal This is a Leafs team that had a chance to own the moment and change the narrative around them on home ice Linus Ullmark has been trending upward throughout this series Ottawa ended the first period with three shots virtually unable to generate chances in the middle of the ice And their biggest reason for staying alive was Ullmark particularly sharp when the Leafs had their first power play of the game where Ullmark benefited from some tight defensive play Nikolas Matinpalo rushing back to break up a Steven Lorentz chance on a clean two-on-none Ullmark even did his best Anthony Stolarz impression when he was physical with Marner They needed him to practically steal a game It happened in Game 5 and the series returns to Ottawa this is now the third straight year in which a team has forced a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in their series The Oilers and Hurricanes did so last year in the Stanley Cup Final and in the second round respectively and the Stars did so two years ago in the Western Conference Final none of those teams completed the comeback Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green doesn't know where this game ranks in terms of his team's best in 2024-25 "We played a really good road game," Green said On Linus Ullmark's shutout performance: "Not surprising," Green said With his empty net goal in the final minute of tonight's game Brady Tkachuk became the first player in Senators history with three points in game when the team faced elimination Tkachuk also recorded assists on Thomas Chabot's opening goal and on Tim Stützle's empty net goal Chris Tanev was one of the best Leafs players on the ice tonight The defenseman didn't seem too worried when asked about his team losing two straight "We're up 3-2 in the series," Tanev said Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube liked his team's start to Game 5 but said special teams were the difference The turnover on the power play that led to the Senators' shorthanded goal was costly ‘We got to be more direct on our power play," Berube said "Not enough speed through the neutral zone and creating in the offensive zone Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was candid about his team's performance in Game 5 "The execution at times wasn't there," Matthews said He still believes his team is confident heading into Game 6 in Ottawa "We've been a good road team all season," Matthews said Mitch Marner believed that the Toronto Maple Leafs had chances tonight but couldn't score He knows that winning a series-clinching elimination game "isn't easy." "Didn't capitalize on them." Jason J.: Completely gutless performance tonight by the Leafs Classic clinching game effort for this group Thomas Chabot opened the scoring for the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 He praised his team's ability to put the foot on the gas for 60 minutes “We kept playing our game," Chabot said "We found ways to score at the right time.” Asked about planting a seed of doubt in the Maple Leafs Chabot said he's not worried about the other side "The reason we got here is playing our game we give ourselves a chance every single night." Anthony Stolarz spoke after Game 5 about his team's performance tonight "It’s a good effort by us," Stolarz said Stolarz seemed optimistic about the Maple Leafs heading into Game 6 Linus Ullmark made 29 saves tonight en route to recording the first shutout of his postseason career He becomes the second goalie in Senators history to register a shutout in a game in which Ottawa faced elimination joining Craig Anderson who did so in Game 4 of a first-round series against the Canadiens in 2015 It was locker clean out day at Canadian Tire Centre so the players met with the media to share their thoughts on the #Sens season and playoff run Jackson Starr breaks down Steve Staios and Travis Green's end of season interviews Steve Staios and Travis Green speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Jackson Starr recaps the players exit interviews at CTC Travis Hamonic speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Thomas Chabot speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Nick Jensen speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Tyler Kleven speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Jake Sanderson speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Brady Tkachuk speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Tim Stützle speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Dylan Cozens speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Claude Giroux speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season David Perron speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Adam Gaudette speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Shane Pinto speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Fabian Zetterlund speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season Linus Ullmark speaks with the media following the Senators 2024-25 season The Ottawa Senators finish their postseason on home ice Travis Green speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs Brady Tkachuk speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs Cantwell introduce bill to spark construction of affordable housing Todd Young (R-IN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced legislation that will spur the construction of some 1.6 million new affordable homes over the next decade The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would accomplish this by expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit spend more than half of their household income on rent This cuts into other essential expenses like childcare more than 600,000 Americans are homeless — an increase over pre-COVID levels “Affordable housing is needed in Indiana and across the country The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act will leverage private sector investment to increase the stock of affordable housing in both urban and rural communities this will help to tackle the housing affordability crisis head on to help Hoosier families and strengthen our communities,” Young said the housing credit has built or restored more than 4 million affordable housing units That accounts for nearly 90 percent of all federally funded affordable housing during that time some nine million American households have benefitted from the credit The economic activity that it generated has supported 6.6 million jobs and spurred more than $746 billion in wages “Housing inflation is up 4 percent over the past year nationally and 4.5 percent in the Pacific Northwest – and that was before homebuilders reported an additional 5.5 percent increase in costs due to tariffs this year We need to do more to lower housing costs for everyone Expanding and improving the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit will do just that by making it more affordable to build homes and lower rents,” Cantwell said the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act would: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) A companion bill was also introduced in the House by Reps The bill has been endorsed by the ACTION Campaign and the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition “The overwhelming bipartisan support for the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 underscores the critical need to increase the supply of affordable rental homes,” said Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition CEO Emily Cadik The Toronto Maple Leafs advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, beating the Ottawa Senators in six games The Leafs won Game 6 4-2 in a thrilling game With the game tied 2-2, Max Pacioretty scored the go-ahead goal The Leafs now face the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs It's their second playoff series win in the last three seasons They didn't let the Ottawa Senators force a Game 7 They didn't let a reverse sweep become a reality the Leafs begin their second-round series against the Florida Panthers Can they find a way to knock out the defending champs to advance to the Eastern Conference final Celebrate well Leaf fans and get ready for Round 2 We'll be here providing live coverage as the Leafs continue their Stanley Cup Playoffs journey The only lineup change Craig Berube made after two losses in a row was sending veteran forward Max Pacioretty up to the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander Berube had relied on Pacioretty to play with the Leafs stars earlier this season and liked the strength and physicality he brings to the line But it’s still hard to ignore how much Pacioretty’s lack of foot speed makes that second line defensively suspect You’re never going to get a ton of defensive details from any line with Nylander anyway but moving Pacioretty alongside Nylander felt like Berube was willing to take the risks that come with the possible rewards The line hit a post in the first period and Pacioretty forced a turnover that led to Nylander’s goal Those are the rewards that come with the line seemingly giving up dangerous scoring chances against every time they were on the ice And then: Pacioretty scored the series-clinching goal with just over five minutes left in the third period It was Pacioretty’s first playoff goal since June 22 Brady Tkachuk’s first-period penalty ultimately put the Senators in some trouble after Auston Matthews converted on the power play afterward The Sens were further down in the hole after a Nick Jensen turnover led to the William Nylander goal But Tkachuk found a way to make up for his earlier mistake by redirecting a Thomas Chabot point shot past Anthony Stolarz sending the Canadian Tire Centre faithful into madness Fans could barely contain their excitement once the jumbotron flashed the Sens’ captain on the jumbotron Tkachuk will always say he provided his best when needed in his first playoffs eight hits and 18:46 time on ice in an elimination game his team needed to have Four goals and seven points through six games for the series It was worth the wait to have Tkachuk in the playoffs though he probably would like to have that first-period penalty back Two goals from two Maple Leafs stars within two minutes: the visitors built momentum late in the first period and early in the second with shots from Auston Matthews and William Nylander You’d have to go back to Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022 for the last time both Matthews and Nylander scored in the same playoff game The Leafs broke their 0-for-30 power play drought in possible series clinching games with a knuckleball of a shot from the Leafs captain Nylander followed with his patented wrist shot The Senators tightened up for nearly half of the second period afterwards Berube can claim the onus fell on the entire Leafs team to end their poor run in possible series-clinching games But it’s the Leafs’ core whose legacy remains on the line in these types of games Scoring these types of goals when it matters has been a rarity for the Leafs stars two of the Leafs’ stars dragged their team into the fight The Senators seemed nervous and jittery in their opening 20 minutes of play You would’ve thought that they had all the pressure on their back Linus Ullmark letting dump-ins hit him in the pads nervously before the puck entered the corner The Swedish netminder had Lady Luck on his side when Pacioretty hit the post with a wide-open net in front of him before Max Domi redirected the puck wide of goal The Sens could barely enter the zone and maintain offensive-zone possession on their sole power-play opportunity of the first period And then Brady Tkachuk took an undisciplined penalty near the end of the first period that led to Toronto’s first power-play goal in 31 opportunities in close out games since 2018 Matthews sent a shot past Ullmark to give the Leafs a lead before the intermission The Senators would’ve been fortunate to end that period tied with the way they played the most important takeaway from Game 6 was the fact that it won’t be followed by a Game 7 The “Sens in 7!” chant that crept up again and again from the Canadian Tire Centre crowd Few would have surprised had the Leafs played tight and tense through Game 6 and allowed another opportunity to close out a series slip through their fingers the Leafs were 1-13 in possible series-clinching games since 2018 That statistic has been brought up again and again over the last 48 hours the Leafs deserve credit for silencing the growing anxiety around them and just playing a better game than the Senators The Leafs strung together decent chance after chance and locked things down in their own end more often than not Getting a clutch goal from a veteran in Pacioretty late in the third period is likely part of what GM Brad Treliving had in mind when he added all the veterans he did ahead of this season The Leafs looked like they did through the regular season when they would take a lead and rely on their defensive structure to close out a game They did that without overthinking where they were in the playoffs The Toronto Maple Leafs power play scored five goals in their first round series against the Ottawa Senators They were humming in the first three games but got a critical goal in Game 6 thanks to Auston Matthews the Leafs will need to take advantage on special teams The Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs three of the four meetings this season They outscored Toronto 13-7 in those four games Leafs captain Auston Matthews played in just three of the four Florida meetings The "Core Four" forwards will need to be big for Toronto should they advance William Nylander was proud of his team's compete level throughout Game 6 He had a simple message following his team's win: "We'll have fun tonight but the focus is on Florida," Nylander said Mitch Marner led the Maple Leafs with six assists through the first round Auston Matthews and William Nylander are both tied in second place with five assists John Tavares and Matthew Knies all led the Maple Leafs with three goals after the first round Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had two goals Below are the point leaders for the Toronto Maple Leafs through the first round: Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green said that he was disappointed for his players after losing in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs He believes his team will learn about the "attention to detail" in the playoffs and that every shift matters But he praised his team and believed that it was a very close series "I liked how our team played," Green said "It could've gone either way." Below are the Eastern Conference playoff matchups: they would play the winner of the Capitals and Hurricanes It's the second time in three seasons the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs it would be the first time the Leafs are in the Eastern Conference final since 2002 23 years since Toronto was playing for a chance to make the Stanley Cup Final The Ottawa Senators hadn't been to the playoffs since 2017 Their comeback effort after being down 3-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs falls short It remains at four teams in NHL history (Toronto Maple Leafs Los Angeles Kings) to complete the 3-0 down comeback the Toronto Maple Leafs have two series wins in the "Core Four" era The other was the first round in 2023 when the Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games the "Core Four" forwards of Auston Matthews John Tavares and William Nylander had a big Game 6 to win the series William Nylander scored two goals and recorded an assist Auston Matthews scored a goal and Mitch Marner tallied an assist After a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs the Ottawa Senators finish their postseason on home ice Jackson Starr recaps the teams final match of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs The Ottawa Senators met with the media on Saturday May 3 at the conclusion of the 2024-25 NHL Season The franchise won 45 games and finished the season with 97 points earning a playoff berth for the first time in eight seasons Senators' captain Brady Tkachuk opened the day as the first player to speak His message set the tone with a sentiment that was echoed by every one of his teammates to speak afterwards: this year was a great accomplishment but there's more to come Andlauer down that everybody has the same vision that we really want to accomplish and share this whole experience and these memories with this community as well.” this whole experience of playing in front of this fanbase in playoffs the atmosphere was — the only way I can describe it To be able to play in front of that atmosphere it was truly the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in I couldn’t tell you how excited I was just to step out on the ice They’ve been waiting for a long eight years to be able to share that with them it was so special.” Linus Ullmark echoed Tkachuk's sentiment about how enjoyable playing in Ottawa has been “I’m happy and excited about what’s to come being a number one goaltender for the first real time for the whole season Ullmark also noted his pride in what the team achieved this season defying outside expectations while meeting their own and learning from their experiences “Playing with these guys and seeing how they adapted from game one to game six was a lot of fun I’m very proud and I’m very happy and motivated seeing that It wasn’t that we got ran out of the building four straight like people might’ve thought when we lost the first one we won one of them and we got one on the road.” Thomas Chabot shared the feeling of pride amongst the team in what they accomplished this year but also acknowledged that the work doesn't stop with making the playoffs “We’re going to go into next season and it’s not going to be any easier to get into the playoffs We saw how tight it was this year; it’s going to be the same thing if not even harder next year and you’ve got to focus on that this summer Everybody’s got to go home and do what they need to do to come back as healthy as they can be and as ready as they can be for next season.” This season's taste of the playoffs has created a motivated and hungry team that fans can expect to return at a new level next season Senators' Head Coach Travis Green and President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Steve Staios will conduct their end of season media availabilities on Monday A strong showing from the Ottawa Senators saw them take game five by a score of 4-0 to bring their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs back to Ottawa for game six Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk all scored for the Senators while Linus Ullmark made 27 saves in goal for the shutout The Senators are heading back home for Game 6 after big 4-0 win in Toronto The first period came to a close scoreless with both teams having power play opportunities but unable to capitalize The Senators found themselves trailing 12-3 in shots after the first period an offensive zone face-off win saw Thomas Chabot dance the puck along the blue line to score his first NHL playoff goal and give the Senators a 1-0 lead OTT@TOR: Chabot scores goal against Anthony Stolarz Chabot’s goal was the difference maker of the second frame as the period came to a close with the Senators leading by a score of 1-0 the Maple Leafs continued to lead the way in shots but the Senators closed the gap from the first period a strong defensive play by Adam Gaudette led to an odd man rush the other way for the Senators with Dylan Cozens burying the first playoff goal of his career to make it 2-0 for the Sens Picking up the lone assist on the goal was Gaudette The Maple Leafs pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker as they looked to start a comeback but Tim Stützle found the back of the empty net for his second goal of the postseason to make it 3-0 for the Senators Assisting Stützle's goal were Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk the Maple Leafs continued their push for a comeback and they continued to play with an empty net for the extra attacker Burying the puck for his second of the series to make it 4-0 was Brady Tkachuk with less than a minute left in the third The lone assist on the goal went to Tim Stützle the first round series will return to Ottawa on Thursday for game six Dylan Cozens speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs Thomas Chabot speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs Linus Ullmark speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs The Senators are back home getting ready to host the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 6 at the Canadian Tire Centre Jackson Starr has all you need ahead of tomorrows game in the latest Sens Today The Stanley Cup Playoffs come to Canadian Tire Centre tomorrow night for the first time since 2017 but fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the pregame festivities and activities The CIBC Red Zone in the Canadian Tire Plaza will open at 4:00 p.m and will be filled with excitement and activities pregame The Molson Beer Garden will be open featuring $5.00 beer deals and Schneiders Grill will have $2.00 hot dogs as part of the food and beverage offers hardest shot contests and more will all be available amongst the pregame activities in the CIBC Red Zone alongside axe throwing for those looking to test their aim and strength Fans at the CIBC Red Zone will be able to enjoy live music as well There will be plenty of photo ops around the arena so be sure to bring your Sens gear and show your team spirit Several Canadian Tire Centre bars and restaurants will be open early prior to puck drop Legacy Social Lounge and Club CIBC will all open at 4:30 p.m. while Royal Oak and Ice Level Bar will open at 5:00 p.m the Senators will look to get one back on the Maple Leafs It will take team effort on and off the ice With the first playoff game at Canadian Tire Centre since 2017 Tickets to tomorrow’s game are still available for new season seat members. Click HERE to learn more! The Ottawa Senators return for game four tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m ET when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second time in their first round playoff series Fans are encouraged to arrive early for pregame festivities The CIBC Red Zone in the Canadian Tire Centre Plaza will once again open at 3:00 p.m where fans will be able to enjoy fun pregame activities The Molson Beer Garden will have $5.00 beer deals while the Schneiders Grill will have $2.00 hot dog deals The CIBC Red Zone will feature sign making inflatables and photo ops for fans to enjoy prior to the game several Canadian Tire Centre bars and restaurants will open early ahead of puck drop Legacy Social Lounge will open at 3:00 p.m. and Royal Oak and Ice Level Bar will open at 5:00 p.m it will be a do-or-die game for the Senators who are currently down by three in their series against the Maple Leafs Fans are encouraged to wear their Senators gear and show their spirit as they make noise to cheer on their team the Senators are back to face the Toronto Maple Leafs for a sixth time this series Jackson Starr has all you need ahead of tonight's match in the latest Sens Today ShareSaveCommentBusinessSportsMoneyMatthews, Leafs Eliminate Sens In 5, Face Marchand, Panthers In 2nd RoundBySteve Silverman Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights I have authoritatively written about sports for 30-plus years.Follow AuthorMay 02 01:33pm EDTShareSaveCommentAuston Matthews and the Maple Leafs eliminated Ottawa and will battle the defending champion Florida .. More Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) The long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs have survived and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs but the process was not without the usual dose of pain that is so familiar to the team and its fans Toronto was able to pull out a 4-2 victory in Game 6 over the Ottawa Senators but the game had the look of so many previous Maple Leaf losses After dropping Games 4 and 5 in the series the visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the Canadian Tire Centre on goals by Core 4 superstars Auston Matthews and William Nylander The Senators rallied behind Brady Tkachuk and David Perron tie the score with less than 8 minutes remaining in the third period seldom-used veteran Max Pacioretty beat Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark with a well-place wrist shot to the top corner less that two minutes after the Sens had tied the score An empty net goal by Nylander clinched the Toronto victory and allowed head coach Craig Berube and his players to breathe a sigh of relief “I think we’re happy about obviously being in the second round but now our focus is on Florida,” Nylander said The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers are sure to offer a bigger challenge than the inexperienced Sens who made the playoffs for the first time since 2017 Florida emerged from a first-round meeting with the cross-state Tampa Bay Lightning to earn a 5-game triumph After playing six games against Brady Tkachuk the Maple Leafs now get a chance to compete against Matthew Tkachuk opportunistic and dangerous player who will cross the line when he thinks he can get away with it Sam Bennett is clearly a game-changing weapon for the Panthers he Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago before winning the prize last year Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe all follow Tkachuk’s lead the ex-factor is former Bruins captain Brad Marchand who came to the Panthers in a late-season trade While he certainly looks unfamiliar in Panthers colors, the pesky and feisty Marchand is fitting right in and helping head coach Paul Maurice’s cause He had four assists in the five-game series and finished with a plus-5 rating Since Toronto won the Atlantic Division this season while the Panthers finished third the Maple Leafs will have home-ice advantage in the series that is likely to get underway Sunday or Monday as the NHL has not announced the official start to the series The other second-round series in the East features Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes The Caps defeated the upstart Montreal Canadiens in five hard-fought games Washington had been underwhelming in the final weeks of the regular season despite their status as the top seed in the Eastern Conference The pivotal moment came in the third period of Game 4 at the Bell Center The Canadiens had a 2-1 lead heading into the third period and were threatening to tie the series at 2 games apiece the Caps asserted their dominance with a 4-goal third period to earn a 5-2 triumph and take a 3-1 lead in the series Ovechkin scored the opening goal in Game 5 and Washington cruised to a 4-1 victory They will face Rod Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes another team that won its first-round series in five games Carolina was relentless in the third period and the two overtimes to outshoot the injury-riddled Devils 34-12 over that span The opening round served four well-made appetizers The second round features four talented and driven teams that will try to prove themselves championship worthy OTTAWA — Brady Tkachuk feels he should still be playing And it hasn’t allowed him to wrap his brain around much else It’s been a few days since the Senators captain and his teammates skated off the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre for the last time this season losing Game 6 of their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs Game 7 would’ve been Saturday night in Toronto Still wish we were playing Game 7 tonight,” Tkachuk said Saturday morning in the CTC’s media room It was a sour end to a transformative year for the 25-year-old His play at the 4 Nations Face-Off helped the Americans reach the championship while furthering his and the hockey world’s desire to play postseason hockey while showcasing his skill as a power forward But his play style also comes with a price Tkachuk confirmed to the media that he suffered a hip injury during the exhibition tournament in February and also struggled with an upper-body injury suffered against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 30th Tkachuk was hit high after colliding with Penguins defenceman Ryan Graves near the end of the regular season Tkachuk says recovering from that injury allowed him to heal his hip injury before the playoffs yet declined to reveal specifics of the injury Ryan Graves was called for interference at the end of the second period for this play on Brady Tkachuk Tkachuk did not leave the game. pic.twitter.com/Wcsc21uUxc — TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 30, 2025 “I definitely don’t want to diagnose and put it out there Let’s just say it’s something you can’t really play through,” Tkachuk said Tkachuk will spend his offseason getting back to 100 percent for next season and doing everything he can to play close to a full slate of games next year He won’t join Team USA at the World Championship in Sweden and Denmark this spring It also means he won’t join brother Matthew as he continues his quest for a Stanley Cup as he’s done with his family in previous seasons start their second-round series against Toronto on Monday But there’s another reason why he’ll be following “from afar.” “I guess a little bit to that is the disappointment that we’re still not playing where we played well enough to get to where we’re at,” Tkachuk said It’s a clear sign that the expectations for Tkachuk have shifted thanks to this season’s playoff berth Tkachuk couldn’t answer when asked what he felt his team needed to take the next step to become veritable playoff contenders But he openly acknowledged the change in his team’s expectations after making the playoffs this year “I know we’re going to get better internally and we’re just going to get better overall,” Tkachuk said we’re not just looking at just (being) happy to be in the playoffs as much reflection as I’ve had in the (last) 48 hours One other big takeaway from Saturday’s media availabilities The Sens’ players want Giroux back in the fold Tkachuk spoke about how much Giroux meant to him They’ve only played three seasons together but it feels like he’s known him his entire life Dylan Cozens has only been in Ottawa for two months but he’s learned faceoff tips from Giroux and chirps back and forth with the veteran in the locker room Shane Pinto thinks of the elder Giroux as a “big brother,” while Tim Stützle considers his friendship with him among the closest on the team “I can speak for probably everyone: He’s got a bond to every single guy on the team,” Stützle said “I think he’s still a really special player It always sucks to see when somebody’s contract is up and you don’t know what’s going to happen I know he’s going to come back really strong to show everyone how hard he worked in the offseason and I’ve been really lucky to have him for all those years now we’ve played together It also seems like Giroux isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon The 37-year-old forward scored 15 goals and 50 points in 81 games this season before scoring a goal and 5 points in six playoff games for Ottawa Giroux is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final year of a three-year but I feel like I have a lot left in the tank,” Giroux said and I feel like I could be an impact player It’s just going to be a big summer for me and for all my teammates Giroux is among a handful of pending unrestricted free agents for the Senators this summer who scored a career-high 19 goals and 26 points in 81 games this season for the Senators When asked about discussions regarding his future Gaudette said the Senators will have some internal discussions “over the next few weeks.” (they) come back and get something that works for everyone,” Gaudette said Gaudette rejoined the Sens for his second stint with the team as a free agent last summer and settled into his role as a fourth-line centre while also contributing a goal and 3 points in the playoffs “I think I elevated my game in the playoffs and throughout the year and found another level that I could get to I’m just going to build off that now,” Gaudette said Sens defenceman Travis Hamonic acknowledged the uncertainty of his future while expressing how happy he and his family have been settling into the community of Kanata Hamonic didn’t play in the playoffs for Ottawa this spring The 34-year-old defenceman was the last man off the ice at pregame warmup ahead of Game 6 last Thursday But he suited up in his 900th career NHL game in the Sens’ regular-season finale I snapped this photo before Game 6 of Sens-Leafs: Travis Hamonic stayed out so long after morning skate that the Zamboni eventually just came on while he was still taking it all in If this is the end of Hamonic's NHL career, they literally dragged him off the ice to finish it. https://t.co/MrckITO3O2 pic.twitter.com/kFTjQqq44m — Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 3, 2025 The competitive fire still burns in Hamonic to play but he’s also considered his family life a lot while not looking too far ahead in the future Hamonic also met with general manager Steve Staios on Saturday morning but no discussions have been had about another contract “I think I’ve been very clear about that since the three and a half years that I’ve been here some of the (most fun) times I have playing hockey Nick Cousins and Hayden Hodgson round out the pending UFAs this summer Ottawa also has three restricted free agents including the pairing of Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo who drew rave reviews in their time together during the season and playoffs Pinto is also eligible for an extension this summer as he enters the second and final year of a $7.5 million deal signed last summer “If they want me around here for a long time I wouldn’t be opposed to staying here for a long time.” Staios and coach Travis Green will be available Monday to look back at their season and perhaps offer clarity on pending free agents Jensen arrived as an offseason acquisition last summer via trade in exchange for Jakob Chychrun While he didn’t possess the same offensive attributes as his predecessor he began the season as a reliable defensive partner for Thomas Chabot But his health has been under the microscope for much of the second half of the season leading him to miss morning skates and some regular-season games while his quality of play noticeably dipped “I’ve been grinding a little bit to get through a lot of these games,” Jensen said I’ve been been able to get all the way through playoffs with it And I could have continued to play with it we’re taking time to assess what the future is like and how we can move forward and make sure I’m in the best shape I can be for next year.” Jensen was unable to provide much more detail on what’s been ailing him these last few months and couldn’t clarify if he needed surgery But he’s “hopeful” that he’ll be healthy come training camp in the fall “I don’t think I’m disclosing exactly what is going on until we figure out exactly what our progression going forward should be like,” Jensen said ” I just want to make sure with the doctors and everything that we work all that stuff up with them first before anything gets talked about.” It doesn’t appear that the Senators will be represented at this spring’s World Championship in Sweden and Denmark Stützle said he’d “love” to play for Germany but he’ll take some time to recuperate before deciding Tkachuk and defenceman Jake Sanderson won’t represent Team USA Zetterlund was unsure if he’d represent Sweden as well Ullmark told the media that his agent notified him Friday that Sweden won’t need his services this spring Sweden will rely on a trio of Samuel Ersson The Sens goalie admitted he was “let down” by Sweden’s decision not to add him to the team Ullmark ended his regular season with a 25-14-3 record with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage before recording two wins in six appearances for Ottawa in the playoffs with an .880 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against average “I really wish that I had the opportunity to do that and put the national team jersey on now especially when we didn’t make it (to) the second round.” (Top photo of Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk: Len Redkoles / NHLI via Getty Images) People walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By John L. Micek | jmicek@masslive.comTwo Massachusetts pols are calling on a government watchdog to investigate President Donald Trump’s proclamation Friday that he intends to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status further escalating the fight between the elite institution and the Republican White House Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey fired off the letter Heather Hill the acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration spurred by what they described as “alarming reports,” about the president’s remarks The lawmakers said they’re looking for “an investigation into potential criminal activity related to this decision and into whether or not the Trump administration is using the [Internal Revenue Service] to take other politically motivated actions.” In a post on Truth Social Trump wrote: “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status The move would require a separate investigation from the Internal Revenue Service into whether Harvard violated the conditions that allow it to avoid some federal taxes as a charitable institution as numerous other colleges and nonprofits do “The president is targeting the non-profit status of Harvard University for blatantly political purposes,” Warren and Markey wrote the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee the lawmakers asserted that it’s “illegal and unconstitutional for the IRS to use politically motivated reasons to revoke the tax-exempt status of schools which has said there is “no legal basis” for such a move could contest the IRS’s finding and ultimately challenge the decision in the federal courts “The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission,” Harvard said in a statement “The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research and technological advancements that drive economic growth.” Trump’s call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status a move that could cost it billions of dollars if eventually imposed “raises troubling constitutional questions including whether the president is trying to squelch Harvard’s free speech rights and whether the revocation of its tax-exempt status will deprive the university of its due process rights,” the lawmakers continued Trump has targeted the university with increasing tenacity in recent weeks accusing it of allowing a climate of antisemitism to fester in the wake of the Oct The government has already moved to freeze $2.2 billion in federal research funding to Harvard after the university refused a series of demands to overhaul its admissions and allow outside audits of viewpoint diversity on campus Harvard responded by suing the Trump administration accusing it of overstepping the power of the government and improperly attempting to influence a private university While Harvard could well have the resources to fight the White House in court the move nonetheless “sets a dangerous precedent for President Trump to attack his perceived political enemies,” they continued and any others that land on the President’s target list will be forced to relinquish their free speech rights in order to remain in existence or otherwise face this organizational death sentence,” the lawmakers wrote Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices You are now being redirected to the BCE.ca website (Bell Canada Enterprises) where you can view our Accessibility plan, and submit your feedback using our Accessibility webform The Sens are keeping their ’25 first (21st overall) and giving up the ’26 join forces for The Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast James Duthie is joined by TSN staffers Lester McLean Sean 'Puffy' Cameron and a special guest each episode to chat sports and just about anything else Each episode of James Duthie’s podcast focuses on incredible stories from hockey’s biggest names TSN's Bob Weeks and Jamie Reidel bring you a TSN Golf podcast on the latest news in the world of Golf A hockey podcast that doesn’t talk about last night’s scores uncover and explore long-form stories at the intersection of sports We’re answering the hockey questions that no one asked NHL analyst Mike Johnson on Crosby and MacKinnon going to the Worlds giving up this years 1st round pick and Game 7 weekend in the NHL NHL analyst Mike Johnson on big names joining Canada at the Worlds and the Senators and where the Sens need to improve their roster Ottawa Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld on making the playoffs keys in the series and trying to slow down Marie-Philip Poulin Will the Sens give up their 1st round pick this year Claude Gioux and Fabian Zetterlund need new deals Sens blueline and Steve Staios and Travis Green AJ Jakubec and Gordon Smith have the 1st half call of Atlético Ottawa vs Pacific FC from TD Place AJ Jakubec and Gordon Smith have the 2nd half call of Atlético Ottawa vs Pacific FC from TD Place Graham Creech and Chris Stevenson continue to roll through as much Sens tape as possible as the team's garbage bag day continues Graham Creech and Chris Stevenson play Sens tape on garbage bag day and are also joined by Nick Cousins in-person Sens forward Nick Cousins joins Graham Creech and Chris Stevenson in the bunker Kevin Haime and Jake Haime look at your backswing as they continue to rid you of that slice and they look t different types of wedging with varying degrees tailored best for your specific swing As members of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) we are proud to serve as the primary developmental affiliate for the St use the link below to manually subscribe from your calendar app: The Ottawa Senators kept their playoff series running as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 4-3 in overtime Shane Pinto and David Perron all scored for the Senators alongside Jake Sanderson who buried the game winner in overtime The Ottawa Senators force a Game 5 in Toronto after big win vs Leafs Opening the scoring for the Senators was Tim Stützle with the first NHL playoff goal of his career Coming at 9:03 into the opening period on the power play Stützle ripped a one-timer from the hash marks to give the Senators a 1-0 lead Assists on his goal were awarded to Jake Sanderson and Brady Tkachuk TOR@OTT: Stutzle scores goal against Anthony Stolarz an individual effort to clear the puck from Shane Pinto saw him spring himself on a breakaway to score shorthanded and double the Senators’ lead to 2-0 The Maple Leafs got one back in the final minute of the first period with 54 seconds to play as John Tavares found the back of the net to make it a one-goal game at 2-1 with his third goal of the series offsetting roughing penalties to Brady Tkachuk and Simon Benoit meant the second period would kick off with four-on-four hockey the Senators held a one-goal lead at 2-1 while leading the way in shots by 10-9 the Maple Leafs tied the game at 2-2 when Matthew Knies scored his third goal of the playoffs on a breakaway The rest of the second period remained scoreless and the Senators headed into the second intermission tied 2-2 A push from the Maple Leafs saw them come out of the second period leading the way in shots at 18-11 David Perron restored the Senators’ lead with his first goal of the playoffs to make it 3-2 physical defensive play by Brady Tkachuk gave the Senators both the puck and momentum as they carried it up the ice for the goal Assisting Perron’s goal were Artem Zub and Adam Gaudette TOR@OTT: Perron scores goal against Anthony Stolarz Oliver Ekman-Larson scored his second goal of the playoffs to tie the game back up at 3-3 Jake Sanderson buried the puck at 17:42 into the overtime period for his first NHL playoff goal to keep the Senators alive and win the game by a score of 4-3 in overtime TOR@OTT: Sanderson scores goal against Anthony Stolarz The first round will move back to Toronto on Tuesday for game five of the series Jake Sanderson speaks with the media following the Senators game against the Leafs Tim Stützle and David Perron speaks with the media following the Senators game vs TOR Sign inMail24/7 HelpFor premium support please call: CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) embraces goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs during game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images)Technically speaking it's the Ottawa Senators who remain on the brink of elimination when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday for Game 6 in their Eastern Conference first-round series it's safe to say there's as much pressure on the Maple Leafs who won the first three games in the best-of-seven series Ottawa extended the series thanks to its 4-0 win at Toronto on Tuesday Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle scored empty-net goals and added two assists apiece The pair assisted on Thomas Chabot's second-period goal and Dylan Cozens added a short-handed tally midway through the third to double the lead the Senators will look to become the fifth team in NHL history and first since the 2014 Los Angeles Kings to win a playoff series after losing the first three games it would also add to the infamous postseason woes of Ontario's other team When having the opportunity to advance to the next round with a win the Maple Leafs have won just once in their last 14 chances The franchise has also not won a Game 7 since April 20 when they beat the Senators 4-1 to win the Battle of Ontario and reach the second round The only other time the Maple Leafs advanced in the playoffs since then was in 2023 They won a first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning before bowing out in the second round First-year Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube acknowledged the team's postseason woes while speaking to reporters Wednesday "It gets to the point in the playoffs where there's more noise and a lot of past stuff that I hear around here," he said The only pressure they have is from their own teammates Berube added that Toronto will consider making some line changes but he's also resistant to making too many adjustments The Maple Leafs' balanced offensive attack has carried over into the postseason Mitch Marner leads the team with seven points (one goal while William Nylander and Auston Matthews have six John Tavares and Matthew Knies have both scored three times Toronto has five power-play goals in 16 chances in the series but has also given up a pair of short-handed markers While the Maple Leafs did have a 3-0 series lead Ottawa avoided elimination in Game 4 by winning in the third straight game of the series that went beyond regulation Senators goalie Linus Ullmark entered the series with a shaky playoff history after allowing a dozen goals on 65 shots in the first three games the 2023 Vezina Award-winning netminder has allowed just three of the last 63 shots to get past him Tuesday's win was his first postseason shutout "You could see his game building as the playoff games went on much like our team," Ottawa coach Travis Green said Tuesday "I felt like he was going to have a great game you could see he was feeling more comfortable." Show commentsif (window.performance) {window.performance.mark && window.performance.mark('Col1-2-Rmp');window.performance.measure && window.performance.measure('Col1-2-RmpDone','PageStart','Col1-2-Rmp');} {"article1":{"uuid":"4350328b-4f92-3d99-aa89-d77cb802b6ae","title":"Special teams strength vs but don’t dare doubt the champion Cats | Opinion","href":"/cote-florida-panthers-drop-game-025314288.html","commentsAllowed":false,"metadata":{"cosineSimilarity":0.655361373882335}}}if (window.performance) {window.performance.mark && window.performance.mark('Col1-3-Rmp');window.performance.measure && window.performance.measure('Col1-3-RmpDone','PageStart','Col1-3-Rmp');}Advertisement Show commentsif (window.performance) {window.performance.mark && window.performance.mark('Middle-0-Rmp');window.performance.measure && window.performance.measure('Middle-0-RmpDone','PageStart','Middle-0-Rmp');}Advertisement Show commentsif (window.performance) {window.performance.mark && window.performance.mark('Middle-1-Rmp');window.performance.measure && window.performance.measure('Middle-1-RmpDone','PageStart','Middle-1-Rmp');}Advertisement Show commentsif (window.performance) {window.performance.mark && window.performance.mark('Middle-2-Rmp');window.performance.measure && window.performance.measure('Middle-2-RmpDone','PageStart','Middle-2-Rmp');}Advertisement As the Senators prepare to face the Leafs for Game 5 Jackson Starr has all the news about tonight's important game Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk reaffirmed his desire to stay in Canada's capital when asked about recurring rumors of him wanting to leave "Obviously it's a lie," Tkachuk said Saturday at his season-ending media appearance, according to Sportsnet I think it's on me if I let that bother me or take me off what I'm trying to do Everybody knows that I do whatever it takes to win Everybody wants to accomplish and win the Stanley Cup and I know we're just going to get that much better I know there's going to be some amazing times and memories here down the road." Tkachuk is coming off his first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience and shined with four goals and three assists in a six-game elimination at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs He's under contract until the summer of 2028 when he'll be an unrestricted free agent unless he inks an extension Ottawa and Tkachuk fended off trade rumors in December after it was reported the New York Rangers had a strong desire to acquire the 25-year-old Senators owner Michael Andlauer then accused the Rangers of soft tampering Tkachuk was the fourth overall pick in 2018 He's registered 404 points in 512 games with the Senators and was named captain in 2021 No skate ahead of game time but Jackson Starr has the news and notes you need after meeting with players and Head Coach Travis Green this morning The Ottawa Senators return to Canadian Tire Centre tomorrow to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time this season at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets to tomorrow’s game are available HERE for purchase Fans will want to be amongst the first to arrive to tomorrow’s game The first 7,000 fans in attendance will receive their very own pair of Sens sunglasses to sport throughout the evening the Columbus Blue Jackets come to town for their first meeting with the Senators this season Both teams are in the thick of a playoff race with just _ points separating them in the wild card standings Tomorrow night will be the first of three meetings between the two teams in less than a two-week span Don’t miss out on the excitement! Get your tickets for tomorrow HERE OTTAWA — Much has been made of the Ottawa Senators’ inexperience as they play their first postseason series in eight years Young stars such as Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk are simply getting their feet wet when it comes to playing in these high-pressure environments The Sens have a monstrous 3-0 series deficit to climb “It’s not time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Senators forward Claude Giroux said Thursday night after a Game 3 overtime loss to Toronto “We need to understand that we’re playing some good hockey The last two games could’ve (gone) either way keep playing the way we’ve been playing all year in our last two games Veteran words from a player who’s been in this exact situation before He’s the only player on either side of this Battle of Ontario who has helped accomplish a near-impossible feat: come back after being down three games to none The odds are long for Giroux’s Senators to overcome a 3-0 series deficit at the hands of the Maple Leafs Only four teams in NHL history have ever done it That includes the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers who reverse-swept the Boston Bruins thanks in part to a young Giroux coming into his own Giroux had just wrapped up his first full regular season in the league yet was already an integral part of the team that made history “He was right at an inflection point where he was starting to become a star,” Chris Pronger said “starting to take over our team from an offensive side of the game players in that calibre he was underneath at the time Him and (Giroux) were the young guys coming up.” “I remember being impressed at how much he relished the spotlight,” Brière said And he just seemed to love the big games and the big moments.” The 2010 Flyers persisted through injuries and a midseason coaching change before beating the New York Rangers in a shootout in their final game of the regular season just to make the playoffs The Flyers upset the Devils in the first round before having the Bruins in their sights But the Flyers were stunned as they processed their 3-0 series deficit while hanging out in their players’ lounge after their Game 3 loss Philadelphia dropped the first game in overtime before losing another one-goal game in Game 2 and then allowed two third-period goals to lose 4-1 in Game 3 “There’s probably about 10 to 12 of the veterans and we couldn’t believe where we were at,” Brière said “That’s kind of what made me believe that we had a chance Because we were all flabbergasted that we were down We had played way better than that to deserve to be down at that juncture.” That belief meant everything to the Flyers who attacked every ensuing game one by one to give themselves a chance The Flyers knew they’d be in tough; Boston lost centre David Krejci to a wrist injury in Game 3 but still boasted a strong squad with playoff warriors in Patrice Bergeron the Toronto Maple Leafs’ current assistant coach Not one person felt like the series was over,” Pronger said Giroux scored and added an assist in a do-or-die Game 4 when the Flyers won in overtime to stay alive Giroux assisted on a late first-period goal that kick-started the Flyers’ comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the deciding game “We got back to the dressing room after the first period We were all angry at ourselves for letting this happen that way and being down.” The Flyers then scored twice in the second and it was only a matter of time before they won the game Flyers players were jumping around and couldn’t contain their excitement and that was before Simon Gagné scored the game-winning goal in the third period But their mentality shifted once the final horn sounded “It wasn’t solely focused on winning the series,” Pronger said “It wasn’t about trying to make history and being one of the lone teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit We’ve got to play Montreal next (in the conference finals) We were just focused on who we were going to be playing.” It was an experience that propelled Philadelphia to a Stanley Cup Final appearance that spring against Chicago Brière and Pronger still have fond memories of that Cup run He’s emerged as the Sens’ leading scorer with three points in three games Brière wouldn’t be surprised if Giroux imparts wisdom from that run to his Sens teammates Even if Giroux’s new teammates won’t share notes Thomas Chabot knows about that 2010 run but wasn’t interested in comparing any team that’s made such a comeback to this year’s Senators David Perron wasn’t interested in divulging much from those “brief conversations” either Brière and Pronger have watched parts of the Sens-Leafs series and feel games 2 and 3 could’ve easily swung in the Senators’ favour Even if the Sens are mostly still green in playoff experience Pronger feels they could still use whatever doubts have been thrown at them as motivating factors “That type of stuff they need to use as motivation,” Pronger said That’s something to use to stoke the fires a little bit more to spur them on and try to be great.” That “pout” quote sounds a bit familiar Giroux said his team couldn’t afford to do that as it prepared for a Game 4 on Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre as the Sens hope to emulate those 2010 Flyers “They’re waiting and they’re looking for something to happen,” Brière said “They’re looking for a break to go their way (Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images) Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. On a drizzly Thursday night in Ottawa, an army of Senators fans showed up ready to follow their team into battle. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Article contentAfter captain Brady Tkachuk made good on his Game 3 promise to bring the team back to the Canadian Tire Centre, fans were yearning to see their team make it all the way to Game 7. The Senators saw their season come to an end with a heartbreaking defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even so, there was a rousing chant of “Brady! Brady! Brady!” before the Sens left the ice for the last time this season. Here’s a look at the passion, hope and heart—from fans and players—that was on display during Game 6, first-round playoff action, as captured by photographer Tony Caldwell. OTTAWA – May 1, 2025 — Ottawa Senators arriving at the Canadian Tire Centre before game 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ottawa Thursday. TONY CALDWELL, Postmedia. —With files from Janson Duench and Bruce Garrioch transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account The Ottawa Senators are leaning on keeping their first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft general manager Steve Staios said on Monday "It's highly likely we'll keep our pick," Staios told reporters at the Senators' end-of-season availability Steve Staios says "it's highly likely we'll keep our pick" when asked about their 1st round selection in 2025. The #Sens have to forfeit their first round selection in either 2025 or 2026 The league voided Vegas' deal with the Ducks and the Sens were deemed to be at fault leading to the dismissal of then-general manager Pierre Dorion “The penalty that was imposed on the franchise was not something I took lightly, not something I was happy to do, but I felt I had to do it,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in November of 2023 The Senators were eliminated in six games by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the NHL Playoffs on Saturday It was their first trip to the playoffs since falling in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017 Staios' decision will mean that the Senators will not have a first-round selection in next year's draft The NHL Draft is scheduled to begin on Friday with the draft lottery set to determine the selection order later on Monday the Senators are not eligible to win the draft lottery Among the top prospects expected to be taken are forward Michael Misa and defenceman Matthew Schaefer. Learn more about the next generation of talent entering this year's draft with TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie's Draft Ranking The Texas Stars rode Remi Poirier’s 29 saves to a 4-0 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids The Griffins had won Game 1 in each of their last three playoff series and in seven of eight series dating to 2017 but the Stars handed the home team its second straight postseason shutout Grand Rapids goalie Sebastian Cossa allowed four goals on 19 shots and was replaced by Jack Campbell Amadeus Lombardi led the team with five shots on goal with Elmer Soderblom and Axel Sandin-Pellikka each recording three shots on goal Senators keep Battle of Ontario aliveLinus Ullmark made 29 saves for the first playoff shutout of his career as the Ottawa Senators edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on Tuesday night to cut the deficit in the teams’ first-round series to 3-2 Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens gave the Senators a 2-0 lead before Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk added empty-net goals for Ottawa which once again staved off elimination after picking up a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 at home Saturday Tkachuk and Stutzle added two assists each for three-point performances Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 shots for the Leafs Only four NHL teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series – the 1942 Leafs “Our will to win was high and I think it paid off,” said Tkachuk “It’s all about now resetting and getting refocused.” which beat Ottawa four times in a five-playoff span in the early 2000s dropped to 1-13 in potential series-clinching games in the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era dating back to the 2018 playoffs That lone victory came in a first-round triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning two years ago It’s about staying as even-keeled as you possibly can and making adjustments when you need to.” who took the opener of this series against its provincial rival 6-2 before back-to-back 3-2 overtime victories pushed them to a 3-0 lead will need to do just that after the Senators once again won the special teams battle in a tight-checking affair “I’m not feeling anything,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said when asked if he’s getting nervy vibes from a core that has stumbled badly in previous playoffs picked up their first playoff victory since 2017 in Saturday’s extra-time decision that kept their season going before again doing their best to plant a seed of doubt in the Atlantic Division winners’ star-studded roster “It can change fast,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said of postseason momentum you can feel (crappy) about yourself or your team or where you’re at Those are the types of things that we’ve really talked to our team (about) throughout the season New Jersey 4 (2OT): Sebastian Aho hammered a one-timer past Jacob Markstrom at 4:17 of the second overtime to help the Hurricanes clinch their first-round playoff series in five games Aho's score off a feed from Shayne Gostisbehere came with the Hurricanes on a four-minute power play on a double-minor high-sticking penalty by Dawson Mercer that sent Jesperi Kotkaniemi skating off to the tunnel with a towel to his face the only lead the Hurricanes would have in a wild game that pushed them into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs They'll next play the winner of the Montreal-Washington series Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina which is one of four teams in the playoffs for at least seven straight years But the Hurricanes are the only one of that group to win at least one postseason series each time It also marked the second time in three seasons that the Hurricanes had eliminated the Devils in a five-game series that ended with a sudden-death goal in Raleigh The other came in the second round in 2023 Timo Meier and Stefan Noesen scored during New Jersey’s game-opening flurry then Nico Hischier added a second-period goal for a 4-3 lead after Carolina’s rampaging comeback Minnesota 2 (OT): Brett Howden scored 4:05 into overtime Tuesday night to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild and put Vegas one game away from advancing out of the Western Conference first round The Golden Knights take a 3-2 series lead back to St which had the second-best record in the Pacific Division this season and won the Stanley Cup in 2023 will try to advance to at least the second round for the fifth time in their eight-year history Minnesota will attempt to avoid another first-round series exit The Wild’s last series victory occurred in 2015 when the Wild made the second round William Karlsson and Mark Stone also scored goals for the Golden Knights Eichel had just one assist in the first four games Kings 1: Mattias Janmark scored the tiebreaking goal at 7:12 of the third period and Edmonton beat Los Angeles for their third consecutive victory and a 3-2 lead in their first-round series Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored and Calvin Pickard made 20 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers who can advance with a win in Game 6 in Edmonton on Thursday Edmonton was finally rewarded for dominating possession and shots throughout Game 5 when Janmark converted a rebound of Viktor Arvidsson’s shot Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-net goal to finish the Oilers’ franchise-record third consecutive comeback playoff victory Andrei Kuzmenko scored and Darcy Kuemper stopped 43 shots for the second-seeded Kings who are one loss away from their fourth consecutive first-round playoff exit at Edmonton’s hands despite winning the first two games of this series at home and blowing third-period leads in the next two Panthers' Ekblad suspendedFlorida defenseman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for two games for elbowing Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the head midway through Game 4 of the Panthers’ first-round series against Tampa Bay The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced its ruling after a phone hearing with Ekblad earlier Tuesday He will be out for Game 5 and either Game 6 of this series or the Panthers’ first game next round No penalty was called when Ekblad hit Hagel in the chin with his right elbow and forearm with just under nine minutes left in the second period on Monday night and Ekblad scored the first of two goals in 11 seconds late in the third to give the defending Stanley Cup champions a comeback victory and a 3-1 series lead Coach Jon Cooper said Hagel would not play in Game 5 Hagel was suspended for Game 3 for his late hit that knocked Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov out of Game 2 Ekblad missed the first two games and the final 18 of the regular season after being suspended for violating the league and NHLPA's performance-enhancing drug policy Florida got accustomed to playing without Ekblad there’s even questions from the coaching staff about what’s the right adjustment to make in your lineup and how will that play out – there’s a lot of unknown," coach Paul Maurice said “Because we’ve been through it so much when Aaron’s out we know what the D-pairs are – let’s assume – if he’s out of the lineup.” was fined $5,000 for boarding Tampa Bay's Zemgus Girgensons Mikkola was given a five-minute major and ejected for the play early in the third period of Game 4 Tocchet won't return as Canucks coachRick Tocchet is not returning as coach of the Vancouver Canucks plunging them into another search and making him a top candidate for several vacancies around the NHL Tocchet's departure comes after 2 1/2 seasons in Vancouver since replacing Bruce Boudreau in January 2023 He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2024 for guiding the Canucks to a 50-win season and first place in the Pacific Division Vancouver dealt with locker room drama between J.T Miller and Elias Pettersson for several months did not have injured captain Quinn Hughes at times and missed the playoffs Miller was traded to the New York Rangers at the end of January and Tocchet was critical of Pettersson in his season-ending news conference Tocchet did not have a contract moving forward and decided not to sign another with the Canucks this becomes the opportune time," Tocchet said or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.” Tocchet won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with Pittsburgh in 2016 and '17 and played more than a decade with Philadelphia The Penguins and Flyers have coach openings Joel Quenneville and Peter Laviolette as a few of the top options available to fill those jobs Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford called Tocchet's departure “very disappointing news.” “But we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career,” Rutherford said “We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day Rick felt he needed a change and we can’t thank him enough for all he did for our organization.” Eastern Conference playoff scheduleTampa Bay vs Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – and Angus King (I-Maine) – member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – introduced legislation to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other research partners to comprehensively study the impacts of repetitive low-level blast injuries on veterans’ mental health The Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2025 would require VA to work with the National Academies of Science and Medicine to create a ten-year research plan to establish the effects of repetitive low-level blast injuries where benchmarks must be reported to Congress in order to develop further legislation for veterans who suffer with the effects of these repetitive blast exposures “Research has linked low-level blasts which servicemembers are exposed to during training and in combat to increased occurrences of brain injuries mental health conditions and suicides,” said Sen “The Precision Brain Health Research Act will help us better understand why and how blast injuries are impacting veterans’ mental health and make certain VA is able to quickly incorporate these findings into care for veterans and enable them to receive an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan This legislation is a step towards providing veterans the evidence-based health care and benefits they have earned and deserve injury — and we’re finding they can be caused by exposure to large explosions as well as consistently being near smaller blasts such as when firing a rifle so we need to confront this threat from all angles,” said Sen “The bottom line is we must expand our understanding of the impact all blasts have on mental health so that we can take proactive measures and protect the long-term health and well-being of our military community Here in Maine we know all too well the horrible tragedies that can occur when brain injuries are left untreated This commonsense bill builds off of previous efforts to deliver on our government’s sacred promise to provide our servicemembers veterans and their families the very best care and support.” This legislation builds off the Precision Brain Health initiative in the Commander John Scott Hannon Mental Health Care Improvement Act, which became law in 2020 The full text of the bill can be found here “America’s Warrior Partnership is proud to fully endorse the VA Precision Brain Health Act of 2025 led by Chairman Moran and Senator King,” said Jim Lorraine “As a former member of United States Special Operations Command and an advocate for many I served with I know firsthand the long-term health impact of repetitive exposure our service members and veterans have suffered with unexplained symptoms because of undetected brain injuries caused by repetitive low-level blasts during their time in training and in combat This legislation will ensure these veterans will no longer be left behind.” “The Navy Seal Foundation applauds U.S Senators Jerry Moran and Angus King on their work leading the Precision Brain Health Research Act,” said Robin King “This bill will begin groundbreaking federal research—with accountability benchmarks built in—to ensure our Seals and others in the Special Operations community will not be left behind with the wounds they have suffered due to repetitive low-level blast injuries.” “The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) supports the Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2025 to expand VA research on repetitive low-level blast exposure and other brain injuries affecting veterans,” said Joy Craig Associate Director of Service Member Affairs “By strengthening VA-DOD data-sharing and partnering with the National Academies of Sciences this bill advances cutting-edge care for those suffering from service-related brain injuries We urge swift passage to ensure veterans receive the timely evidence-based treatments they deserve.” is a complex injury with a spectrum of short- and long-term conditions and it is a signature wound of post-9/11 military service,” said Brian Dempsey This legislation is also supported by The American Legion Majority: 202-224-9126 | Minority: 202-224-2074 One thing's for sure: CTC will be rocking tonight I've asked a version of this question before every game so far and this time will be no exception: how are you feeling Nada: I'm at peace with how far they've come and trying to enjoy each game as it comes without thinking too far ahead Doesn't take away from the game day nerves though I feel like I can run through a brick wall They looked so much better in that game and Toronto looked so lifeless.Shaan: I'm in a state of zen right now Satisfied with the emotional damage done to the Leafs' fanbase While also being able to acknowledge that if the season ends today it's only the beginning of the Andlauer era I don't know how any longtime fan could feel otherwise The Sens have already exceeded expectations and now we all just get to enjoy the show.Trevor: Despite being down 3-2 this is easily the best I've felt about the series since it started They have gained more confidence as the series has gone along and the pressure is all of a sudden on the "1-13 Maple Leafs." Even if they lose either game but I'll be so happy they at least made it a series If they lose tonight I'll be disappointed of course Not sure how long I'll keep feeling relaxed once the puck drops Let's cut to the chase: is this comeback possible What needs to happen for the Sens to complete this historical reversal?  Nada: I mean anything in hockey is possible but this is a young team after all with a huge challenge ahead against a team who has been here before and will be desperate not to be embarrassed again I still don't think the full comeback is possible but I'm ok with that Ross: They need Ullmark to keeping being fullmarks in net They need to continue to frustrate the Leafs' shooters and powerplay The Sens have settled into a system where they don't take a tonne of shots but they don't give up possession easily and they limit Toronto to under 30 shots per game too Don't give them a chance to build confidence and they can sit back and watch the Leafs defeat themselves.  Shaan: A reverse sweep is incredibly unlikely in a nutshell but being down 3-2 and winning the series is very doable by doing what they've done all year – provided they can score first Ullmark alone can make it happen if he keeps playing at his current pace Ottawa will have to continue playing relentless defence with an emphasis on patience and discipline.  They have played very well at home this season so I like their chances in Game 6 at least They need Linus Ullmark to play as well as he has the last two games plus the defense needs to continue their great stick play like they did on Tuesday Ideally the Sens find another gear to seal the deal but if they keep doing what they're doing they've got a real (but uncomfortably tight) chance to pull it off I'd like to see them avoid the penalty box and continue to take more of the centre of the ice That is something they have been getting better at through the series but there is still lots of room for improvement The Sens' PK has gone from liability to strength in the last three games Nada: The defense overall has improved so it's translated into better PK but they're also more confident with taking risks now and it's done well for them Ross: Some is just luck; no powerplay is 55% you scout a powerplay better the longer you spend against it That Gaudette read last game that led to the game-sealing shortie felt like an example of anticipating where the Leafs were going to put the puck.  Beata: I would like to point out that I absolutely called this What changed is that the Sens learned to anticipate the Leafs' set plays and intercept them You can see on the Cozens goal especially that Gaudette knows what pass the Leafs are about to make before it happens Shaan: The Leafs are playing in elimination games Auston Matthews is a lot more dangerous in non-elimination games Owen: I think first and foremost the young Sens got over those early jitters and everyone has settled down Other than that I think it just comes from familiarity and making adjustments on the fly and a lot of it is their ability to settle down even if they lose the first draw They struggle when it gets frantic in the beginning The Leafs have also struggled to limit their mistakes BT: They've gotten better at stopping those set plays off the faceoffs There are definitely points where he is bailing the PK out in the past few games Nada: An intense and desperate game from both teams but an unfortunate 4-2 Leafs win Shaan: Recycling the same prediction as last game because that's how Ottawa made the playoffs in the first place Low-event hockey that heavily relies on scoring first Owen: I predict the loudest crowd that this arena has seen to date Trevor: The Sens send it back to Toronto for Game 7 with a close 2-1 win Not everyone can afford to pay for sports coverage right now and that is why we will keep as much of the site's content free for as long as we can please consider subscribing to help keep our articles free (and get a few extra perks) Guest contributor Adam Coplan reflects on how he feels to be a Sens fan today Editor‘s note: Today we’re running a guest piece from Adam Coplan a stalwart of the Ottawa Senators community I remember exactly where I was when Chris Kunitz scored the double-overtime goal to eliminate the Senators from the playoffs in Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals I had just finished performing at my high school’s spring concert - with the game streamed on my phone resting on the music stand throughout the show - and quickly raced off with a friend to catch the start of the first overtime at his house there was a deafening silence in his living room We just stared at the TV showcasing the celebratory scenes in Pittsburgh in complete and utter disbelief after a few minutes of mental and emotional processing I was overcome with an unforgettable sensation of serenity and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it My favourite team - an entity in which I had poured all of my heart soul and energy into for the last two months of that gruelling playoff run - had just lost in the most heartbreaking fashion you could conceive of What I was feeling was an immense sense of pride.  There is no set criteria that a fan must follow in order to properly be proud of their team often a consensus among a vast majority of the fanbase without even having to speak a word of it I think many other Sens fans were extremely proud of that 2017 team It just went without saying: they gave it their all And they gave some younger fans their first introduction to how special Sens hockey can be This word has not often been synonymous with the Ottawa Senators since that infamous night The next seven seasons were filled with misery Fans were begging for the team to give them even an ounce of joy or success to latch onto People started to devote less and less time and energy to the team There was absolutely nothing to be proud of downright embarrassing to publicly out yourself as a Sens fan When meeting new people or even just making conversation in public I would tell people that I cheered for the Senators This was often met with a lamentable and pitiful “ah.” For this to happen time after time in the city of Ottawa was completely degrading The image and reputation of the team had completely shattered The Senators were a punching bag in their own backyard.  The once well-burning flame of fandom in this city had been smothered but everyone else seemed to have just moved on They were just waiting to be roped back in There are so many storylines that people will be able to look back on and rejoice over from this past season the official arrival of Jake Sanderson as a superstar and the exciting new direction of the team lead by Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios I will choose to look back at this year as the season that the Sens reclaimed their market Ottawa is not just a hockey city; Ottawa is a Senators city And that was showcased loudly and proudly during their first-round series against the Leafs Sens Mile was bumping every single game night but even through the TV it was clear that Sens fans brought their absolute A-game to support their team and fans claiming that this was one of the loudest and most energetic buildings they had ever been in.  I had almost forgotten what it was like for this city and that building to be as insane as they were But when the puck dropped for Game 3 on home ice I was brought right back to scenes from 2017 I felt that pride again that had been missing for so long.  losing to your most hated rival in the playoffs would be met with anger I could not be more proud of what Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators did this season You just know they are going to come back next year better and hungrier than ever They now know what this city can look like when they are able to deliver results and I certainly hope they know how proud we are And I think they’re here to stay for a long time.  Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight calls for additional federal funding for people who were sickened by their work following the 9/11 terror attacks during a news conference with Rep and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer The Trump Administration’s funding shell game over the health program that treats 9/11 first responders with Ground Zero-related illnesses continued this weekend with a fresh round of layoffs — and New York’s Senate delegation is calling on their Republican colleagues to step up and save the program Friday’s mass layoffs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health became the .. The Trump Administration’s funding shell game over the health program that treats 9/11 first responders with Ground Zero-related illnesses continued this weekend with a fresh round of layoffs — and New York’s Senate delegation is calling on their Republican colleagues to step up and save the program Friday’s mass layoffs at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health became the latest blow to the World Trade Center Health Program, which is caught in a back-and-forth funding drama as Trump and Heath and Human Services Secretary Robert F take a buzz saw to key health and research programs Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Have the latest food and drink articles delivered to your inbox every Thursday Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates Sign up today to receive email newsletters of local daily obituaries Get the Register Star and Daily Mail E-edition delivered directly to your inbox Have the latest local news delivered every morning so you don't miss out on updates Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account NJ - The Senators scored two goals 33 seconds apart early in the second period and it was the difference in a 3-2 victory against the Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday night Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson tallied the two early goals in short duration and David Perron added a power-play goal for the Senators “We weren’t hard enough (in the second period)," Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said Then not enough offense to recover from it the best team in the second period all season long Devils captain Nico Hischier and Erik Haula tallied for New Jersey Haula's goal came with 22.4 seconds left to give the Devils some life "We had a good push in the third because we’re desperate," forward Jesper Bratt said "But in the first and second period we’re not starting desperate enough to win." The Devils have lost three of their past four games to pull within six points of the Devils for the third spot in the Metro Division The NY Islanders lost in overtime to Calgary but are now eight points behind New Jersey but with three games in hand “We’re going to have to realize that every single point matters so much more than we maybe think,” Bratt said • This game turned early in the second period Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson scored 33 seconds apart in the opening 4:38 91 seconds later the Senators responded with a power-play goal from David Perron to make it 3-1 getting out of the zone,” defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic said “Especially at the beginning of the second they were hemming us in Five-on-five we didn’t generate much O-zone time They kept coming back into our zone and we got hemmed in for a couple long shifts • The Senators scored three goals off tips within one foot of the crease it was the Senators’ forecheck and offensive cycle overmatching New Jersey And Ottawa’s ability to get inside at the net for leverage and tips • Hischier finished a nice passing sequence on the power play to pick up his 30th goal of the season He was set up in the right circle and received a pass from Jesper Bratt through the Senators outstretched box Hischier teed up the shot and sneaked the puck just between the post and the skate blade of goalie Linus Ullmark He also extends his scoring streak to six games with four goals and six points • It was a historic assist for Bratt on Hischier’s 30th goal setting a new single-season franchise record Bratt tops Scott Stevens’ 60 assists in the 1993-94 season "It feels good but would have felt a lot better if it led to a win," Bratt said I just want to continue helping the team win games and score goals." • Haula has three goals and five points in his last six games He faced way too many high danger shots in the game and performed remarkably It’s telling that three goals scored against him were tips from within four feet Allen’s best save came when he was laying on his side and lifted his left leg to get a piece of Drake Batherson’s shot to keep it out of the net • Cody Glass has two goals and six points in seven games since joining the Devils • Curtis Lazar returned to the lineup after missing the previous game with an injury He made an immediate impact on the Devils’ opening PK sequence he jetted to the neutral zone to pick up a loose puck for a breakaway He was stopped by goalie Linus Ullmark with the blocker Ottawa’s Claude Giroux had the puck at the crease with Devils goalie Jake Allen down and out Giroux pushed the puck toward the empty net but Lazar skated into the crease to pick up the puck and swipe it out of danger With only a single game left in the regular season the Ottawa Senators now know their opponent for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it will kick off a modern version of the Battle of Ontario The Ottawa Senators announced today that single-game tickets for Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre will go on sale to the general public on April 17 at noon A limited number of tickets will be available for Game 3 and Game 4, the first home games in Ottawa’s return to postseason action. For fans looking to guarantee their seats for every home playoff game, the best option is still through becoming a 2025–26 Season Seat Member, which also comes with preferred playoff ticket pricing. This series sets the stage for the first Battle of Ontario playoff series in over 20 years Ottawa dominated the regular season series going a perfect 3-0-0 and outscoring Toronto 9–3 The last time these rivals clashed in the postseason was 2004 and this time a new generation of fans will get to witness the rivalry in full playoff force Not done yet! Next up #StanleyCup Playoffs! Nous n’avons pas terminé! On passe aux séries de la coupe Stanley! pic.twitter.com/I0qnMVZbeu OTTAWA – TheOttawa Senators announced today that single game tickets for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre will go on sale to the general public at 12 noon EDT on Thursday The tickets will be available for purchase at Ticketmaster.ca with a limited quantity available for Game 3 and Game 4 at Canadian Tire Centre Individuals who sign up to become Senators Season Seat Members for the 2025-26 season can still guarantee access to all home playoff tickets at a preferred rate Dates and times for the home playoff games at Canadian Tire Centre will be released by the National Hockey League later this week Visit the Senators website: www.ottawasenators.com Engage with the Senators on X: @Senators Like the Senators on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawasenators Follow the Senators on Instagram: senators The Ottawa Senators are hosting their fifth Throwback Thursday night at the team’s game against the Boston Bruins tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets to the game are available HERE for purchase The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a limited edition Throwback Thursday poster featuring Andrew Hammond Past posters have featured Daniel Alfredsson The posters are done by Canadian visual artist Samantha Woj Woj’s method fills negative space and creates forms that come together to make unique and beautiful pieces the Boston Bruins come to town for their fourth and final meeting with the Senators this season the Senators hold a 2-1 record in their season series with the Bruins the Senators will be on the hunt for their fifth-straight win Don’t miss out! Get your tickets to tomorrow’s game HERE The Canadian Tire Centre Plaza will be open pregame for fans to enjoy activities The concourse will also be full of interactive photo ops and activities for fans to take part in once inside fans will enjoy surprises and delights as the Senators show their gratitude to the best fans in the league Coming to town are the Philadelphia Flyers who the Senators will play for the third and final time this season The Senators enter the game hot off a dominant 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens last night Don’t miss out on the fun! Get your tickets to tomorrow’s game HERE! The Ottawa Senators return to the ice tomorrow night when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at home at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will also mark the Senators’ annual Pride Night. Tickets are available HERE for purchase The evening will see the Senators celebrate and raise awareness for the LGBTQ2S+ community within the Ottawa-Gatineau region and the Senators Community Foundation will be raising funds for two local charitable organizations Funds raised will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters and Proud to Be Me two local organizations that promote inclusion and mentorship in LGBTQ2S+ youth The first 5000 fans in attendance will receive a tote bag and there will be pride pucks and light up bracelets available at the Sens Store the Senators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the fourth and final time this season The Senators are 1-2 in their first three meetings with the Lightning with their win coming at home back in October Don’t miss out on the action! Get your tickets to tomorrow night’s game HERE Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) announced they renewed their agreement establishing the bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission to provide recommendations for nominations during the 119th Congress for U.S Attorney positions for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin Circuit Court Justice Diane Sykes recently announced she will go into senior status on October 1 necessitating a nomination for consideration by the Wisconsin Senators to the U.S Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Our judicial commission has worked in the past if everyone concentrates on finding individuals who will apply the law and not alter it to fit their ideological or policy preferences I look forward to working with the commission to find individuals to recommend to President Trump who will provide that type of justice for the citizens of Wisconsin,” said Sen “I am proud to work with Senator Johnson this Congress to select qualified impartial candidates to serve our state and faithfully apply the law I have full confidence our bipartisan nominating commission will do its job well of rigorously vetting and selecting candidates with the character and experience required to fairly deliver justice for our constituents,” said Sen Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk said Saturday that he had been playing through a hip injury he sustained while representing the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February The Sens captain said the injury happened against Sweden in the Americans' round-robin finale on Feb Brady Tkachuk said he was still dealing with the hip injury he sustained at the 4Nations vs Sweden during the playoffs: "The hip happened that Sweden game took some time coming back to try to get it as good as possible…now it’s just take the time to get that all healed up...it could heal up in the next couple of weeks," he said The injury appeared to happen in the first period of that game when he lost an edge and hard into Sweden goalie Samuel Ersson's left leg and skate He briefly returned to the game but did not come back out for the second period and was later officially ruled out for the night He returned for the final against Canada three days later but missed Ottawa's first two games following the tournament.  Tkachuk also discussed a different injury he incurred later in the season that kept him out from late March until just before the playoffs The 25-year-old missed eight games with an upper-body injury before returning on April 17 “I don't want to diagnose and put it out there lets just say it’s something you can’t really play through," he said Saturday Tkachuk also discussed his team's first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and told reporters how much he enjoyed playing postseason hockey it’s almost addicting to be able to play in front of that atmosphere It was truly the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in.” The Sens fell down 0-3 in the series but won Game 4 in overtime and then forced a Game 6 after winning Game 5 back in Toronto. But Ottawa's run came to an end Thursday night when the Leafs won 4-2 to advance to the second round, where they will play the Florida Panthers “It’s devastating,” said Tkachuk after the Sens' elimination it’s tough to swallow but at the end of the day to see this city see this fan base and I really wanted to do it for them It’s gonna be a long couple months here but myself and the rest of the group here we’re gonna come with a lot of fire next year.” You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter Auston Matthews celebrates with Leafs teammates after scoring against the Ottawa Senators in Game 6 Matthews and Pacioretty led the Leafs to a 4-2 win in Ottawa Toronto advances to play the Florida Panthers in the second round The Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 in Game 6 to win the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series shakes hands with Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark while captains Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk speak after Game 6 Auston Matthews talking about the noise on the outside in his post-game Sportsnet interview was notable They know what it would have been like had they been pulled to a Game 7 It might change against a tougher opponent In 2022 the Leafs lost the first two games at home delivered something close to a no-show in Game 3 in Florida That was the moment that then-GM Kyle Dubas decided he was going to explore changing the core before his implosion with president Brendan Shanahan and the window to change the core of this team passed The demons are still there: beating a young inexperienced Senators team in six games isn’t going to banish the entirely of Toronto’s past But this is the kind of matchup that a serious team finds a way to win but it’s an important one: they didn’t freeze All that said: the only other time the Leafs got out of the first round the Florida Panthers were waiting for them and the Panthers just made quick work of Tampa and are built for playoff hockey and I would suspect the Leafs will not be favourites The Toronto Maple Leafs: 2-13 in potential closeout games in the Matthews-Marner-Nylander era the latest in a long line of veteran guys who join the Leafs after never winning before is the guy who makes the biggest difference but the Leafs will play the Florida Panthers in the second round Credit where it’s due: this has been a good response to Ottawa’s tying goal This is a team that is 1-13 in potential series-winning games since 2018 Max Pacioretty celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators in the third period of Game 6 who has looked old at times in this series and hadn’t scored since December The Leafs needed depth scoring in the worst way MAX. PACIORETTY.@Rogers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/f14XvAE272 and in fact actively counsel against gambling on sports but what the hell were the odds on Pacioretty scoring a goal in this game Senators fans cheer during the second period of Game 6 against the Leafs in Ottawa on Thursday Perron literally banked it off Stolarz’s back ELECTRIC ⚡️#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/eoOLw4Swyn The Leafs have covered up their poor-to-middling possession numbers all year with high-end scoring and excellent tandem goaltending and that was a bad time for their goaltending to allow that goal and David Perron ties it from a really tough angle This has been a respectable enough Morgan Rielly game but that is not an interference penalty you want to take Leafs are 37-1-1 when leading after two periods this year The Sens have trouble generating shots and scoring but the Leafs aren’t collapsing by any means but the effect is heightened as a series goes on The difference between pushing this to a 3-1 lead and blowing a 2-0 lead especially in the third period of a road game but Linus Ullmark has gotten better as the series has gone on the big difference in this game is the Senators power play was quiet and the Leafs made good on their one PP chance There have only been two penalties; at 5-on-5 there hasn’t been a big difference between these teams Can the Leafs’ best guys break through one more time Can a team whose puck possession numbers have been awful play 20 minutes of defensive hockey to end this series one thing you like is that Matthews and Marner have geared up scores on Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz during second period action in Ottawa on Thursday As soon as the Leafs went up 2-0 they were back on their heels and Tkachuk gets the deflection after a Nylander giveaway Scoring chances are 7-1 Sens in the period and Matthews threw away a puck from behind his own net a couple minutes ago VOLUME ALL THE WAY UP FOR THIS CROWD REACTION 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/QAMEMsml2z but he’s going to have to have a good Stolarz game celebrates his second-period goal with Max Pacioretty Brandon Carlo and Morgan Rielly during Game 6 in Ottawa Good thing William Nylander wasn’t accidentally disqualified on his birthday His only other goal in the series came on a 5-on-3; this one was bigger A gift for all is always in Style 😎🥳@Rogers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ZQCAzrFqk5 and Anthony Stolarz is going to need to be solid But the Senators only had four shots on goal in the first 22 minutes of this game William Nylander smiles during a short practice at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto on April 21 Elliotte Friedman makes a good point: whoever put the wrong number on William Nylander in the lineup card could have gotten Nylander disqualified from the game That would have been an incredibly iconic Leafs moment Alex Nylander’s numbers instead of William I can’t decide if it’s a good omen Really does say Alexander Nylander haha pic.twitter.com/VAIC1ker8E celebrates his goal with John Tavares during the first period of Game 6 The Leafs had been 0 for their previous 30 on the power play in elimination games but Matthews was brilliant there: absolutely wrong-footed Ullmark with a changeup along the ice and the captain scores his second of the series PAPI PRECISION 🎯@Rogers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/D1SdCTKMXc Matthews and Marner had produced almost nothing of note at 5-on-5 in that period; neither The big guys still need to be more dangerous One thing that Leafs fans should feel good about is this Senators team really doesn’t have a lot of high-end pop but Brady Tkachuk is clearly playing through something Stützle was on the wrong side on that Ottawa 3-on-2 The Sens do have a lot of guys who could skate or hit or grind their way to a goal but the Leafs have been limiting their shot attempts for long stretches and the Leafs have a chance to rev up the power play again The first PP in Game 5 was really dangerous; we might say this 30 times tonight but Toronto needs to take advantage of an opportunity like this Every time the Leafs come close but don’t score - Max Pacioretty and then Max Domi had glorious chances just now but Pacioretty hit the post and Domi’s shot was deflected wide in the crease - we’re all going to wonder whether the Leafs are gripping the sticks tighter Again: there are so many past examples of how the Leafs lose a game like this and they’re going to have to find a way to write a different ending Former Senator Bobby Ryan celebrates after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final in 2017 “Matthews’ balding!” “Marner’s leaving!” and not a lot of scoring chances either way until that last push by the Senators by the way: Of the 14 Leafs goals in the series five have come from defencemen: two from Oliver Ekman-Larsson the six defencemen dressed tonight scored 17 of Toronto’s 267 goals the production is unlikely to be sustainable and the pressure on the core of this top-heavy team might actually be higher than it looks Fans cheer prior to first period NHL playoff hockey action between the Leafs and Senators in Ottawa on Thursday The Ottawa rink is still one of the most inconvenient arenas in the league; a traffic nightmare from downtown Going to Senators games can honestly sometimes feel like it’s a garage franchise One time I ate a pre-game meal there and it felt like we were eating leftovers I have a montage of pictures of Craig Custance of The Athletic laughing bitterly as he ate it the Canadian Tire Centre is the centre of the Canadian hockey universe It’s going to be fascinating to see whether the Leafs look nervous Because lord knows we’ve seen them look like that before Mitch Marner stands beside Auston Matthews during a break in play against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena on November 21 Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews each have one goal through five games in this series Marner has six assists while Matthews has five the Leafs duo has combined for four goals and 10 assists The Star’s Kevin McGran is in Ottawa and took a photo of the two stars finishing their pre-game routine where they’re the last players on the ice 16-34 pic.twitter.com/JHlvLLgtwk These Leafs aren’t last year’s Leafs in theory — they have a weaker first-round opponent in the Ottawa Senators You could see all of that come to bear as the Leafs opened up the 3-0 lead in this series And while that’s in the rearview mirror those games were important: they gave the Leafs breathing room It’s not an exaggeration to say Game 6 in Ottawa is the biggest game in the career of the core Leafs: of Auston Matthews Lose this game and you go back to Toronto for a Game 7 played over a trap door against a young Sens team that isn’t afraid of you with the greatest failure in an era full of playoff failures looming over every second Win this game and you get to exhale for about 15 seconds before turning around and finding a Florida Panthers team that has more playoff success in the past two seasons than the Leafs have in the previous 25 Time to figure out whether you have this figured out A fan sits in an empty rink following Game 5 in Toronto on Tuesday Nobody wants to be reminded of this moments before a playoff game that feels like a must-win for the Leafs — even if it technically isn’t highlight just how difficult it’s been for Toronto to close out playoff series over the last several years The Leafs will once again try to close out a series pic.twitter.com/I4Y2c36KJM Sens captain Brady Tkachuk celebrates his goal against the Maple Leafs in Game 3 Captain Brady Tkachuk promised Senators fans after Game 4 that his team would be back at the Canadian Tire Centre for Game 6 and now he’s asking those attending Thursday night’s game to make a difference it’s about our city,” Tkachuk told reporters after Ottawa’s morning skate “You can feel the excitement and we’re going to need it tonight.” who has three goals and three assists through the series’ five games was also asked if the Senators had played their best playoff hockey yet “There’s no chance we’re ever going to be complacent with where we’re at The Leafs are 1-13 in series-clinching games since 2018 have combined for just four goals and 10 assists in those 14 games OTTAWA—Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube put his team’s mindset in the simplest terms as it prepares for Game 6 against the not-dead-yet Ottawa Senators The Leafs find themselves in the driver’s seat while also battling the demons of the past a record of 1-13 in games in which they could put away an opponent since 2018 They say they’re not letting that get to them You just try to block all that stuff out,” captain Auston Matthews said “The main focus is on the guys in the room It’s not something that you focus on at all.” Get the latest from Leafs reporter Kevin McGran Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really doing this again It was 2021 when former Leafs assistant coach Paul MacLean’s haunting words were uttered between Games 6 and 7 against the Montreal Canadiens heavy favourites in that first-round playoff series were comfortably up three games to one before losing the next two in overtime Amazon’s “All of Nothing” documentary captured a coaches meeting where MacLean spoke about what was at stake for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner they’ve got ‘em under their f—-ing beds,” MacLean said to former head coach Sheldon Keefe “Everywhere they turn there’s a f—-ing demon with a loss on it The biggest obstacle this team has right now is themselves.” Read the full column from Nick Kypreos said it’s important to play physical while staying out of the penalty box Might as well get the money quote out of the way toot sweetie And Craig Berube has only been “around here’’ for one season These are the veteran coach’s first playoffs behind the Maple Leafs bench no-nonsense guy with a throwback sensibility But he can’t possibly truly grasp how sags the spirit in Toronto or the twitchy dread of his longest-tenured players on a team that has watched a 3-0 lead in the opening round of the Atlantic Division series lurch into a 3-2 sinkhole of anxiety Read the full column from Rosie DiManno WASHINGTON — After three months of rapid action and a near-constant news cycle, congressional Republicans are taking a victory lap as they commemorate the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term Republican lawmakers filled their social media timelines and press release dockets with statements praising Trump’s first three months on the job lauding his efforts to crack down on issues ranging from immigration to transgender athletes to energy dominance The 100-day stretch has been filled with a flurry of executive orders and memorandums turning the government on its head The administration has moved a mile a minute to repeal much of what his predecessor had done before him resulting in a sense of whiplash for some lawmakers — but one that Republicans appear to relish “President Trump ‘understood the assignment’ from his first day in office: to enforce our borders and immigration laws especially against dangerous criminals; to root out waste and abuse across the federal government; and to rip the woke anti-American race and gender agenda out of our public institutions by its roots,” Sen “He has delivered on these and many other promises with a single-minded fighting spirit that has millions of Americans saying ‘this is exactly what I voted for.’” Other Republicans similarly praised the quick pace with which the Trump administration has taken Washington by storm with many repeating a tagline the president has sought to make a central theme of his administration: “Promises made But the fervor with which Trump has wielded his executive power has not been met with the same excitement from everyday Americans. Instead, Trump’s approval ratings have begun to dip — giving him the lowest 100-day rating of any president in the last 80 years Those numbers are especially damaging when it comes to the economy as a majority of voters say they are concerned Trump’s recent economic decisions That sentiment doesn’t appear to be the case with Utah lawmakers as they told the Deseret News they approved of Trump’s performance so far When asked what grade he would give Trump’s first 100 days Lee told the Deseret News he’d award an “A+.” Others in the Utah delegation gave similar approval compared the beginning of Trump’s term to Ronald Reagan taking over from the Carter administration citing similar challenges such as high inflation and “volatility in world affairs.” but what we’ve seen in these first 100 days is a President doing what he said he was going to do: disrupt and tackle the challenges head-on,” Curtis said in a statement to the Deseret News “The hallmark success of President Trump’s first 100 days has been securing the border and getting our illegal immigration problem in check There’s no question — that’s a promise made and kept and our communities are safer because of it.” The number of people trying to come into the country illegally has dropped significantly since Trump took office, with only 29,065 people encountered in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection That’s down from the 124,507 who were stopped in December 2024 The difference in the number of deportations between Trump and Biden is not yet known as the Trump administration hasn’t reported those numbers yet also celebrated Trump’s second term for its focus on the border “President Trump’s first 100 days have brought something back to Washington that’s been missing for years: common sense,” Owens said and returning accountability to the people’s government.” the president has worked at a pace not seen in recent decades Trump has signed 140 executive orders — the most signed by any president in his first 100 days It far surpasses the record previously set by Franklin Delano Roosevelt who signed 99 executive orders in his first three-month stretch But in terms of legislation, Trump has fallen behind his predecessors. As of Monday, Trump has only signed five bills into law — coming in below the 11 that President Joe Biden had signed by this point in his presidency During the first 100 days of Trump’s first term Republicans have been occupied with negotiating Trump’s reconciliation bill a massive funding package they hope to finalize by mid-summer to pass all of the president’s top priorities at once But even those plans have taken longer than originally planned House GOP leaders laid out an initial plan in January to have the full reconciliation package drafted that timeline is being pushed back as cracks emerge among Republican lawmakers on multiple fronts including Medicaid Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Monday that the new target date is July 4 As Trump waits for Congress to hand him major policy wins particularly for his handling of the economy Only 39% said they approved of Trump’s performance, down 6 points since February, according to a recent poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos Those numbers are especially dire when it comes to how voters view the economy with 73% of respondents saying the economy is in bad shape More than half (53%) said the economy has gotten worse since Trump took office and a whopping 72% say they are concerned his economic policies will cause a recession Democrats are seizing on those concerns — and ramping up their messaging against Republicans as they look to make gains in the midterm elections next year “The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been characterized by chaos cruelty and corruption,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries We should be able to do better for the American people The Trump administration has failed and Republicans in Congress are behaving like a useless rubber stamp and allowing extremism to hurt the American people.” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched an attack ad series this week hitting Trump over his tariffs and concerns of inflation The ads will be aired in battleground states such as Michigan and Georgia which are set to have open Senate races next year