Senators: Tkachuk can be a difference-maker in so many ways, whether it be with his scoring touch, his physical play, or his ability to get under the collective skin of the opposition. The 25-year-old finished fourth on the team in scoring with 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists), led the Senators in penalty minutes (123), power-play goals (14) and tied for the lead in game-winning goals (five). In the process, Ottawa’s captain was easily the team’s inspirational leader, an intangible that cannot be measured on any score sheet. As Tkachuk goes, so, usually, do the Senators. Count on him stirring things up, especially with the Maple Leafs stars.

Goaltending

Maple Leafs: Heading into the season, neither Anthony Stolarz nor Joseph Woll had ever played more than 28 games in an NHL season. In the end, they proved they could handle the increased workload with Woll making 42 appearances and Stolarz 34. Thanks in large part to their efforts, Toronto allowed the eighth fewest goals (231) in the NHL. Stolarz (21-8-3), who was third in the NHL in goals-against average (2.14) and first in save percentage (.926) after leading the NHL in each of those categories last season, is expected to get the start in Game 1 with Woll (27-14-1, 2.73, .909 save percentage) set to come in if he falters. Together, they form one of the better goaltending duos in the playoffs.

Senators: Linus Ullmark has been a game-changer for a franchise that has been thirsting for one for years. He was especially stingy down the stretch, going 13-3-1 in his final 17 appearances to help the Senators make their run into the postseason. Coupled with backup Anton Forsberg (11-12-3, 2.72, .901 save percentage this season), the Senators gave up 47 fewer goals (281-234) than last season, a significant reason why they’re in the playoffs.

Numbers to know

Maple Leafs: Defenseman Chris Tanev set a Toronto single-season record with 189 blocked shots this season and will be relied upon to do just that in the playoffs. He ranks 15th all-time in that category with 1,841.

Senators: Despite missing 10 games this season, Tkachuk led Ottawa in hits with 228. He now has 1,759 for his career and has never had fewer than 174 in a season, that coming as a rookie in 2018-19.

They said it

“It’s about us. I get Ottawa’s a real good team, and it’s going to be a battle, and they do what they do, and we’ll look at that stuff, but it really boils down to our team and the commitment and the battle we’ll need.” — Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube

“It’s awesome. I mean, we’d be happy with anyone, but I feel like everyone wants the Battle of Ontario. So, they’re going to get it, and it should be a good one.” — Senators forward Drake Batherson

Will win if…

Maple Leafs: If their stars — Matthews, Marner, Nylander, John Tavares — produce like it, something that hasn’t happened in the postseason. The so-called Core Four have helped the Maple Leafs to just one playoff series win since the 2018-19 season when they first started playing together. Nylander (45), Tavares (38), Matthews (33) and Marner (27) combined for 143 of the team’s 267 non-shootout deciding goals during the regular season. It’s time that production translated to the playoffs.

Senators: Ullmark continues to be a difference-maker. The games will likely be tight, especially with Berube’s conservative offensive approach, so power-play opportunities will be Toronto’s best chance to score. The Senators, led by Tkachuk, have had penalty issues at times. That’s where Ullmark comes in. After all, the old credo in hockey suggests that a goalie is a team’s best penalty killer. Against the high-powered Maple Leafs, he’ll have to be.

How they look

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner

Pontus Holmberg — John Tavares — William Nylander

Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson

Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo

Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev

Simon Benoit — Philippe Myers

Anthony Stolarz

Joseph Woll

Scratched: None

Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (undisclosed), David Kampf (upper body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (upper body)

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stutzle — Claude Giroux

David Perron — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson

Ridly Greig — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio

Nick Cousins — Adam Gaudette — Fabian Zetterlund

Jake Sanderson — Nick Jensen

Thomas Chabot — Artem Zub

Tyler Kleven — Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark

Anton Forsberg

Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic, Matthew Highmore

Injured: Hayden Hodgson (lower body)