The Toronto Maple Leafs officially eliminated the Ottawa Senators from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night with a 4-2 victory in Game 6. After jumping out to a 3-0 series lead, fans of the team were a bit antsy heading into this contest, especially given the Maple Leafs recent history of postseason struggles. They managed to send the Senators packing, though, and after the game, Paul Bissonnette was extremely fired up.
For most of Game 6, Toronto was in control against Ottawa. They jumped out to 2-0 lead in the second period after Auston Matthews scored at the end of the first period, and William Nylander scored early in the second period. Brady Tkachuk and David Perron would score to eventually tie the game with seven minutes left in the third period, but Max Pacioretty scored the go-ahead goal with five minutes to go before Nylander buried an empty netter to eliminate the Senators.
Paul Bissonnette, Maple Leafs Fans Go Crazy After Game 6 Win
Considering the Maple Leafs playoff history, and the Senators ability to work their way back into this series, it made the victory in Game 6 much sweeter for the team and their fans. That includes former NHL player Paul Bissonnette, who is a self-proclaimed die-hard Toronto fan. After the game, he sent a fired-up message to the Leafs that will surely get them ready to go for their upcoming series against the Florida Panthers.
Bissonnette spent six years in the NHL, playing one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and five with the Phoenix Coyotes. A native of Canada, though, Bissonnette has always been a fan of Toronto, even during his time playing in the league. Now working as an analyst for “NHL on TNT,” Bissonnette doesn’t have to hide his fandom, and he sent a strong message to the Maple Leafs after their Game 6 win over the Senators.
“To Leafs nation, an incredible victory,” Bissonnette said on “NHL on TNT.” “I thought it was gonna get done in five, but six games is still good. Let’s start with coaching. (Craig Berube), great job putting (Max Pacioretty), great adjustments this series. (Anthony) Stolarz, incredible performance in net, great contributions from the back end. The core four, now core five, we’ve graduated with the performance of Matthew Knies. We’re onto greener pastures.”
Maple Leafs Set to Square Off Against Panthers in Second Round Series
GettyAnalyst calls for Maple Leafs to scratch Max Domi.
With this win, Toronto has booked their spot in the second round, but things are only set to get more difficult for them. They will now be taking on the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers, after they cruised past the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series. Winning the first round is great, but the Maple Leafs have bigger goals for this postseason run.
While things were a bit more difficult than they initially appeared to be for Toronto, they did what they needed to in order to send Ottawa packing. The schedule for this series has yet to be released, but reports indicate things will get underway on Monday, May 5.
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