Welcome to the final Run It Back episode of the spring! To close out the semester, we are going to be revisiting the 2004 playoff series between the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are starting up, which means the renewal of old rivalries and the formation of new ones. Ottawa is in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, beginning this year’s run vs. Toronto in the opening round. The Maple Leafs and Senators’ last postseason meeting came during the first round of the 2004 playoffs, their fourth playoff encounter in five years. To fully understand the meaning behind their rivalry, we need to hop into the time machine and go back a little ways.
Along with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto and Ottawa are two of the NHL’s three teams that represent eastern Canada. All three play in the league’s Atlantic Division, one of two divisions from the Eastern Conference. However, it was not always this way.
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens are both Original Six teams, meaning that they were two of the six teams that played in the NHL from 1942-43 to 1966-67. Before that period, there was another Ottawa Senators franchise that played in the NHL from the league’s formation in 1917-18 through the 1933-34 season, winning the first modern Stanley Cup championship in 1927 after the NHL gained full control of the trophy. Following the 1933-34 season, the team relocated to St. Louis, lasting one more season before folding in 1935. The Senators continued on as a semi-professional team through 1954, when dwindling attendance caused ownership to cease operations.
Despite ice hockey’s rich history within Canada’s capital, Ottawa would not receive another NHL franchise until the early 1990s. In the Senators’ absence, the sports rivalry between two of Ontario’s largest cities lived on in other leagues, such as the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders. Nevertheless, Ottawa remained starved for a new NHL team for some time.
In the late 1980s, the NHL expressed interest in expanding to other markets, having last welcomed four teams from the competing World Hockey Association in 1979. After securing funding to build an adequate NHL arena, Ottawa emerged as a contender for a new franchise, and the Senators began play in the 1992-93 season alongside the Tampa Bay Lightning.
While Ontario did have two NHL teams once again, they were in opposite conferences—Ottawa was in the Prince of Wales (now Eastern) Conference, while Toronto played in the Clarence Campbell (now Western) Conference. Fear not, my friends, as the Maple Leafs later moved to the Eastern Conference during a realignment in 1998, joining the Senators in the Northeast Division.
By this point, it had been over three decades since Toronto had last claimed the Stanley Cup, having won for the 13th time in 1967. It had also been over 70 years since a team from Ottawa had won the Cup, and since the new Senators opted to claim none of the previous franchise’s history as their own, their championship total had been wiped clean at 0.
In the years following the 1998 realignment, both the Maple Leafs and Senators became regular postseason contenders, routinely popping up within the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Ottawa won the Northeast Division title in 1998-99, while Toronto made it in as the East’s fourth seed, going all the way to the Conference Finals. Though the two did not meet in the playoffs that year, their developing rivalry heated up significantly around the turn of the millennium.
The Battle of Ontario really made waves in the 1999-2000 season, with Senators forward Marián Hossa dealing a devastating high stick to the eye of Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard (watch at your own risk). Ottawa finished the season having won three of the teams’ five regular season matchups, going 3-1-1 in the regular season series. A month after Hossa clipped Berard’s eye, the two foes met in the first round of the playoffs, bringing the rivalry to new heights. After splitting the first four games, Toronto pulled away with wins in Games 5 and 6, winning Game 5 in overtime. The Leafs’ run continued into the second round, losing out to the eventual champion New Jersey Devils in six games.
In 2000-01, the Senators had perhaps their best season yet, ending the year with 109 points. Ottawa once again upended Toronto during the regular season, taking all five matchups en route to the second seed in the East. This momentum would not extend into the postseason, as the Maple Leafs swept the Senators in four games, winning twice in OT. Once again, Toronto lost to New Jersey in the second round, failing to advance any further after defeating their provincial rivals. Is anyone else getting déjà vu here?
While Ottawa may have dominated in the regular season, the Leafs had the clear upper hand in the postseason. Toronto had taken each of the rivalry’s first two playoff matchups, going 8-2 across both series. If the Senators wanted to gain any ground in this rivalry, they would have to beat the Maple Leafs in their next postseason encounter.
In the 2001-02 season, Ottawa and Toronto took the ice for their third consecutive playoff matchup. The Leafs (100 points) finished just one point behind the Boston Bruins (101 points) for the Northeast Division title, which ultimately knocked them down to the fourth seed. Though the Senators (94 points) were the seventh seed, they were not far behind the rest of the pack, ending the year just two points back of the fifth-seeded New York Islanders (96 points).
Toronto won a back-and-forth seven-game series against the Islanders, while Ottawa soundly defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, allowing just two goals over five games. This set the stage for the Battle of Ontario’s first second-round contest; the winner would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, upping the stakes for the series at hand. Would the Maple Leafs come out on top once more? Or would the Senators claim victory over their provincial foes in the playoffs?
The combatants alternated wins over the first five games, with Ottawa holding a 3-2 series lead entering Game 6. However, history repeated itself again as Toronto outscored the Senators 7-3 in the last two contests to emerge victorious in Game 7. After reaching the second round for just the second time in franchise history, Ottawa’s season ended at the hands of the Leafs for the third year in a row. Toronto advanced to the Conference Finals, losing three overtime contests to fall to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.
2002-03 saw the Senators finish atop the NHL, winning the Presidents’ Trophy with 113 points. Off the ice, Ottawa was in trouble, battling bankruptcy in the midst of a record-setting season. While all of this was transpiring, the Battle of Ontario reached a boiling point.
On Mar. 4, 2003, tempers flared in a frenzy at Ottawa’s Corel Centre. Leafs forward (and current Senators head coach) Travis Green ran into Ottawa’s Shane Hnidy, and Toronto enforcer Darcy Tucker got into it with the Senators’ Chris Neil, who was sitting on the bench when Tucker initially attacked him. Upon starting a fight with Ottawa’s bench, Tucker exchanged some blows with Hnidy, adding fuel to the fire. Tucker, Neil, and Hnidy were all assessed game misconducts once the officials restored order, and the Senators went on to win by a score of 4-1.
Tensions did not immediately cool down, however; in the days following the game, Tucker claimed that Neil spit on him, which was later proven to be false. Tucker and teammate Tie Domi were both suspended for multiple games in response to Tucker’s false spitting allegations against Neil and Domi’s assault on Ottawa forward Magnus Arvedson. Between this brawl and the last three playoff matchups, the Battle of Ontario was at its peak.
This animosity did not carry over into the postseason, though, as the Flyers knocked out Toronto in seven games in the opening round. The Senators, having been relieved of facing the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, won eight of 11 in the first two rounds to advance to the Conference Finals for the first time. Ottawa’s incredible season ended with a seven-game loss to the Devils, who beat the NHL’s top seed en route to their third Stanley Cup.
By the 2003-04 campaign, the rivalry had seen four years’ worth of intensity in both the regular season and the postseason. Thanks to Biovail Corporation founder Eugene Melnyk, the Senators were out of bankruptcy, mitigating the team’s off-ice distractions and allowing them to focus on trying to take the next step in the playoffs.
This season picked up right where the previous one left off, giving Ontario hockey fans plenty more action to keep up with. On Jan. 6, 2004, Toronto captain Mats Sundin’s stick broke in a game vs. the Nashville Predators, and Sundin responded by throwing his broken stick into the air. Sundin’s broken stick flew into the stands, earning him a one-game suspension from the league. Sundin served out his suspension two days later in a home game against Ottawa, during which Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson added insult to injury by faking a stick toss in a 7-1 rout of the Leafs. Frustrated both by Alfredsson’s taunt and the lopsided score, Toronto mobbed Alfredsson as Ottawa won in a blowout.
In the opening round of the 2004 playoffs, the Battle of Ontario celebrated its last hurrah of the pre-lockout era as the Maple Leafs and Senators met in the postseason for the fourth time in five years. Finishing one point ahead of Ottawa during the regular season, Toronto had home ice advantage in the series. We find the rivalry at a critical juncture here—will the Leafs continue to lord over the Senators in the playoffs? Or will Ottawa finally exact revenge this time around?
Game 1 was knotted at 1-1 in the first period before the Senators’ Greg de Vries was penalized for interference; Bryan McCabe scored for Toronto on the ensuing power play, putting the Maple Leafs ahead, 2-1. The following period, Ottawa got one back and then some—Wade Redden evened the score on a 5-on-3 and Hossa notched another power play goal just 38 seconds later to give the Senators the lead. Hossa cemented Ottawa’s victory with another goal early in the third, with the Senators heading into Game 2 up 1-0 in the series.
The second game of the series was a lot more centered on penalties than scoring, as Gary Roberts scored the game’s only two goals to give Toronto a 2-0 win. 24 penalties were assessed in total—11 over the first two periods and 13 in the third. While both sides were busy beating each other up, Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour was perfect in net, stopping all 31 shots he faced to preserve the shutout victory. Thanks in part to Belfour’s efforts in Game 2, the series was tied at one game apiece heading over to Ottawa.
At the Corel Centre for Game 3, the Senators lost 2-0 once again as Toronto took a 2-1 series lead. Joe Nieuwendyk opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs in the second, launching one past Ottawa goaltender Patrick Lalime. Near the end of the third period, Sundin added to Toronto’s lead by scoring on a breakaway. Though Alfredsson attempted to cut the deficit in half near the end of regulation, Belfour continued to be a brick wall in net, stopping all 37 shots that were sent his way in Game 3.
The Senators finally ended their scoring drought in the first period of Game 4, with Alfredsson tying the game at 1-1. It was all Ottawa from there, with Hossa, Todd White, and Chris Phillips giving the Sens a much-needed 4-1 victory to knot the series at 2-2. Lalime stopped 23 of the Leafs’ 24 shots on goal, his best playoff performance against Toronto since Game 1 of the 2002 series. Heading back to Air Canada Centre for Game 5, both teams were eager for a chance to pull ahead as the Battle of Ontario reached a critical stage.
Aside from a handful of penalties in the first two periods, not much action happened in Game 5. It took until the third for either team to score a goal, with Domi breaking the scoreless tie (pun not intended) within the two-minute mark of the period. Neither team managed more than 21 shots on goal, with the Maple Leafs finishing with just 16 shots against Lalime. Nevertheless, Toronto made the most of their chances, with Domi and Nieuwendyk each sending one past Lalime to squeak by Ottawa and gain a 3-2 series advantage.
Back at the Canadian capital for Game 6, the Senators needed to win at home in order to stay alive. Alfredsson was confident that this would happen, going so far as to guarantee a series victory for his squad after falling behind 3-2. Would Ottawa deliver on Alfredsson’s promise and come back to win the series in seven? Or would the Leafs finish off the Senators and advance to the second round for the fifth time in six years?
Like in Game 1, McCabe scored on the power play after de Vries was sent to the penalty box, although the score was 0-0 this time. Belfour kept Toronto’s slim lead intact during the second period, but Zdeno Chára evened things up in the third to keep Ottawa’s season afloat. Game 6 reached overtime, and after Belfour and Lalime denied every shot they faced in the first OT period, a second overtime frame was deemed necessary.
Shortly following the start of 2OT, Mike Fisher caught a pass from Antoine Vermette, burying the puck in the net to tie the series at 3-3. Despite saving 44 shots in Game 6, Belfour could not come up with the most crucial stop of the game as the Leafs fell in double overtime. For the second time in three seasons, Toronto and Ottawa would meet in a Game 7.
Historically, the Senators did not have a whole lot of success in situations like this one, being 0-3 in playoff series versus the Maple Leafs and 0-3 when faced with a Game 7 (the second of which was against Toronto two years earlier). At the same time, however, narratives can be changed and underdogs can rise from the ashes to emerge triumphant. Would Ottawa follow in the footsteps of the underdogs from years prior?
Air Canada Centre served as the site for Game 7, hosting two bitter rivals that had given everything in their power to reach this point. Melnyk predicted that his club would win easily, creating for even more sparks heading into the series’ decisive matchup.
The Leafs drew first blood in this one, with Chad Kilger scoring in the opening period to give the home team a 1-0 lead. Then, Lalime made two huge blunders that all but sank the Senators—Nieuwendyk sent a pair of shots Lalime’s way that should have been easy saves, but Lalime was unable to keep them out of the net. Following Nieuwendyk’s second goal, Ottawa headed to the locker room for the first intermission down 3-0.
Hoping to keep his team in the game, Senators head coach Jacques Martin responded to Lalime’s performance in the first period by replacing him with backup Martin Prusek. 22 seconds into the next period, Ottawa got a break when Belfour was unable to scoop up the loose puck that had fallen behind him, getting the Senators on the board. This proved to be a one-time mistake, though, as Belfour stopped all of Ottawa’s shots for the rest of the game.
McCabe got one more for Toronto in the third, putting the finishing touches on the Maple Leafs’ series victory. Once again, big brother prevailed over little brother as Toronto advanced to the second round for the fifth time under head coach Pat Quinn. Like with the last several years, the Leafs were eliminated shortly after knocking out the Senators, losing to Philadelphia in six games in the second round.
2004 proved to be the last time Toronto and Ottawa would square off in the postseason for 21 years, closing the door on the glory days of the Battle of Ontario. This series would also be the Maple Leafs’ last playoff series victory until 2023, as Toronto would eventually fall out of contention in the years following the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Quinn continued behind Toronto’s bench for one more season, but was fired after the 2005-06 campaign when the Leafs missed the playoffs by two points; Toronto did not qualify for the playoffs again until 2013.
The Senators fired Martin following their playoff exit, having made it past the second round just once during Martin’s eight seasons in Ottawa. Succeeding Martin was Bryan Murray, who helped to significantly boost the Senators’ fortunes coming out of the lockout—in the first two post-lockout seasons, Ottawa earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2005-06 and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2006-07. However, the Senators did not win the Cup, and in 2009, they failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1996. From 2009-10 to 2016-17, Ottawa qualified for the postseason five times, advancing as far as the Conference Finals in 2017, but largely fell out of the playoff conversation until this year.
Intraprovincial and intrastate rivalries are extra spicy in sports, typically needing only one incident or one postseason matchup to get going. Even if one city does not have a team for a while, it will not take long for any pent-up excitement to be brought out on the [insert playing surface here]. Once that energy starts to flow, it can continue going strong for years on end. All a rivalry needs is just one notable moment, one seemingly small play, and it is off to the races. No matter how long it’s been since both sides were in the playoff conversation, these rivalries never die out entirely.
