TORONTO TOPPLES OTTAWA, MAPLE LEAFS ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND
For just the second time in twenty-one years, the Toronto Maple Leafs are advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Last night, Toronto defeated Ottawa 4-2 in game six, claiming victory in the Battle of Ontario four games to two.
In contrast to what they did in game five, the Maple Leafs began the opening period getting to the Senators’ net mouth. Despite Ottawa garnering four odd-man rush chances in the opening period, it was Toronto’s defense that stood tall, and eventually, it paid off with the game’s first goal. Brady Tkachuk was sent to the penalty box with just two minutes left in the frame, putting the Toronto power play onto the ice.
For context, the Maple Leaf power play has been under extreme scrutiny, specifically for their lack of production in clinching games. Since 2018, the Toronto power play was one for thirty-two in games the Leafs could clinch a series. The only goal in that scenario came seven seasons ago, in 2019. That was before last night, when, just before the one-minute mark of the first period, Auston Matthews slid the puck past Linus Ullmark, with Matthew Knies screening in front, and Toronto took the 1-0 lead.
Then, after each team emerged from their respective locker rooms, forty seconds into the second period, William Nylander took a wrist shot off the rush, aiming for the far post. Ullmark was cheating to his right, off the angle by just enough for the snipe to beat him blocker side, and just like that, Toronto controlled with a 2-0 advantage.
Ottawa responded with a burst of chances in the offensive zone, with the fans starting to get a bit angsty that the Senators’ season may come to an end that night. With each of the point-blank chances the home team had, Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz was equal to the task as the second period went on. Just over seven minutes into the middle frame, Brady Tkachuk parked himself in front of Stolarz, with no defender hindering the Senator captain. Thomas Chabot recognized the screen, threw the puck toward the goal, where Tkachuk deflected it home to cut the deficit in half, Toronto led 2-1. The remainder of the middle period saw both goaltenders make nifty saves, with play fairly wide open, rush chances both ways, and no penalties called.
In the third, aside from a risky play with the puck from Ullmark, and a pair of close rush chances for Ottawa’s Tim Stuzle, both teams sat back with a poised defensive posture. Play was so clean that there were only a handful of stoppages through the first ten minutes of the final period. Just after the halfway point passed, Toronto’s Morgan Rielly was called for just the third penalty of the game, an interference minor, giving Ottawa a golden chance to tie the game with the man advantage.
On the ensuing power play, the Leafs managed to kill it off, denying any high danger chances and clearing the puck relentlessly. As the time expired on the Rielly penalty, Ottawa’s David Perron took possession, shielded the puck away from the Toronto defense, glided behind the net, and backhanded it, using the back of Stolarz as a backboard to bank in the game’s tying goal. Just seven seconds after the teams returned to even strength, the Ottawa faithful was jolted, tied 2-2.
Less than two minutes later, Toronto broke free for a two-on-one, but the shot from Max Domi went wide. After battling for the loose puck, Domi flipped it atop the zone to Max Pacioretty, who quickly threw it on goal, beating Ullmark for the go-ahead goal. 3-2 Toronto with just over five minutes to play.
In the frantic final ninety seconds, Ottawa pulled Ullmark in favor of an extra attacker. Toronto stood their ground in the defensive zone, denying any attempt to get the puck to the middle of the ice. With just :18 left, William Nylander stole possession away in the Maple Leafs’ own end, took it all the way down into the Senators’ zone, and despite being held by an Ottawa defender, the 28-year-old iced the game with an empty net goal.
Toronto advances to the second round for just the second time since 2004. The Maple Leafs will face the Florida Panthers, who handled Tampa Bay four games to one. The Eastern Conference Semifinal is a rematch of 2023’s second round series that saw Florida take it four to one.
BANDITS WELCOME WARRIORS FOR GAME ONE OF NLL SEMIFINAL TONIGHT
The Buffalo Bandits are set to host the Vancouver Warriors tonight for game one of the NLL Semifinal at KeyBank Center.
As the top seed, Buffalo has the right to home field advantage for the series, which is a best of three. Earlier this season, the Bandits lost to Vancouver 13-12 in late March, the last defeat that Buffalo suffered before winning their last three games of the regular season and the quarterfinal over San Diego last week.
Vancouver is backstopped by one of the most impressive young goaltenders in the National Lacrosse League: 27-year-old Christian Del Bianco. In their first meeting this season, Del Bianco was making his season debut after getting traded to Vancouver from Calgary at the deadline. That night, the Warrior netminder made 40 saves at KeyBank Center. Buffalo’s Matt Vinc should be equal to the task this series, coming off a 48 save performance himself, in the Bandits’ 5-4 quarterfinal victory over San Diego.
Game one of the semifinal series is tonight in Buffalo, with the opening faceoff set for 7:30PM. Game two will be Sunday night in Vancouver, a 9PM eastern start time for that game out on the West Coast. If the series requires a game three, that would be back in Banditland next Saturday, May 10th.
CLARENCE HOSTS WILL SOUTH IN BATTLE OF UNBEATENS ON FNL
The top spot in the division is on the line tonight at Clarence High School, when the Red Devils’ girl’s flag football team hosts Williamsville South on BTPM’s Friday Night Lights.
Both Clarence and Will South enter tonight’s game with an unblemished, 7-0 record on the season, setting us up for what will likely be the most contentious game of the 2025 campaign. Last year, Clarence beat the Billies in the season opener, with an impressive 27-0 victory. Since that meeting, the Red Devils went on to claim their second consecutive Section VI Championship.
Clarence has established themselves as WNY’s first powerhouse in girl’s flag football, under Head Coach Mark Layer. The Red Devils, as back-to-back Sectional Champions, have built on their previous success with a balanced offense, and the most dominant defense in the area. In their first game of the 2025 campaign, Clarence beat Lancaster 33-8, giving up just one score all game. Since then, the Red Devils have shut out each of their other six opponents, defeating teams on average by thirty-eight points. Senior defensive back Kenzie McNicholas leads the Red Devils, and all of Section VI, with ten interceptions on the season. Offensively, Clarence’s Junior quarterback Liv Bell has tossed twenty-two touchdowns through the air, while only suffering one interception in their seven games. Four receivers have hauled in over one hundred aerial yards, while dual-threat freshman running back Ellie LaDelfa has racked up eleven total touchdowns.
Williamsville South’s girls flag football team has been molded similarly to what the tradition-rich boys football program has been known for in the fall: a lethal passing attack. Sophomore quarterback Grace Wagner has burst onto the scene this season with over 1,300 passing yards while turning the ball over just twice. Wagner and her top three targets out wide have combined for all twenty-one of her touchdown passes thus far. Junior Tessa Petrie leads all receivers with nine touchdowns and 452 yards through the air. Senior Paige Szymanski and Junior Millie Schaefer each have hauled in six touchdown catches entering tonight. Defensively, the Billies have been sound, with linebacker Angelina Budelewski leading the way with eight pass deflections and 31 flag pulls.
The top spot in the second division and Class B is on the line this evening from Clarence High School. PJ Cauley and I will bring you all of the action, starting at 7PM. You can listen to the game right here on BTPM NPR, 88.7 FM, or watch the game on BTPM Create, Spectrum Channel 1275.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
