The Ottawa Senators Are In, The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Not There Yet

04/07/2017 at 8:03am EDT

from Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen,

Welcome back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Ottawa Senators.
With injured captain Erik Karlsson at home, the Senators secured a playoff berth with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Boston Bruins Thursday.
After the victory, a loud, boisterous cheer from the Senators dressing room echoed into the hallway at TD Banknorth Garden.
“It’s just a great feeling,” defenceman Dion Phaneuf said. “You could see when we got the point and knew we were in. We knew we had pushed through a lot of ups and downs this year. We found a way to stick to it. (Thursday) was a game that was textbook the style we’ve played all year.”
Well, textbook minus the club’s best player, the best defenceman in the NHL. And by securing a playoff spot, the Senators will be able to rest Karlsson until the playoffs begin.

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from Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun,

The Maple Leafs, late on Thursday night, met the media with a stiff upper lip.
It’s unfortunate they didn’t have a similar approach earlier in the evening against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning at the Air Canada Centre.
The Leafs were flat and didn’t come close to matching the Lightning’s hunger in a 4-1 loss.
“We’re still in a good spot here and there’s no reason to panic,” forward James van Riemsdyk said after the Leafs failed to clinch a playoff spot. “We know we control our own destiny. We have to be ready to go for Saturday (when the Pittsburgh Penguins are the opponent at the ACC).”
It’s crucial the Leafs don’t get ahead of themselves, and they know as much, but perhaps that became a factor before a crowd of 19,380. Toronto overall has played some good hockey in the past month, but it’s in a spot now where the Lightning and New York Islanders could relieve some pressure by losing in each of their next games.

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