“For me, this was the most difficult year so far. It’s been tough mentally. There were days that were not fun, and that hasn’t happened before.” That’s what Brady Tkachuk let slip after missing out on the playoffs last season. Fast-forward to now, he and the Ottawa Senators are not just in the playoffs, but are turning out to be quite the roadblock for their far more successful rivals—the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s because Auston Matthews and Co. just took another soul-crushing L, and Maple Leafs’ Nation? Totally outta breath. The vibes are flatter than soda left out overnight. Linus Ullmark decided to go full ice king, throwing down a 27-save shutout like it was light work. Yup—his first-ever playoff shutout in his 15th shot at it. A cold-blooded, straight-faced performance in Game 5 that ended with a wild 4-0 Senators shocker.

And man, Brady and Stützle? They straight-up skated circles around the Maple Leafs—each piling on a goal and two flashy assists while the crowd watched in silent disbelief. Then boom, Dylan Cozens tossed in a shorthanded dagger for good measure. Toronto came out swinging, even outshooting Ottawa 12-4 in the opening frame, but still couldn’t stop the storm. And their fans? They just couldn’t bear it.

Sportsnet hopped on X mid-chaos and dropped a clip that kinda says it all—Maple Leafs fans were spotted ghosting Scotiabank Arena way before the final buzzer. With heavy hearts and dreams crashing harder than a missed power play, folks were already hitting the exits. The caption? A little too on point: “With the Leafs down 3-0 late in the third, fans begin to leave at Scotiabank Arena.” It was giving heartbreak in real time—blue jerseys fading into the night, heads down, steps heavy.

And guess what? The heartbreak tour didn’t start in Game 5—it was already in full swing after Game 4. A few nights ago, it was Jake Sanderson who crushed Leafs hearts with a dreamy, floaty wrister from the point that somehow dodged all the chaos and slipped right past Anthony Stolarz’s glove at 17:42 of overtime. Yup, the Sens clawed their way back and snatched a 4-3 OT win at Canadian Tire Centre. And get this—they survived a four-minute OT penalty kill after Drake Batherson accidentally got high-sticky with Chris Tanev. But Ottawa wasn’t folding.

And get this—just a few days back, the Maple Leafs were catching heat for being dead last in one brutal stat during the regular season. Like, rock-bottom, nowhere-to-go-but-up vibes. But as the playoffs came, they totally flipped the script.

Maple Leafs from the bottom to the top!

So here’s the tea—just a little while ago, the Maple Leafs were straight-up bottom of the barrel when it came to blueline scoring. Like, seriously, they had a grand total of 21 goals from defensemen the entire regular season—dead last across the league. The vibes? Not great. But now? Flip that script! Because, as of April 27, these same Leafs were suddenly out there leading all NHL playoff teams in goals from the back end with five through the first four games of the postseason.

And the glow? Oh, it’s shining real bright thanks to Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Yep, OEL’s been on one. After dealing with an injury earlier this month—like, people weren’t even sure he’d suit up—he’s back and buzzing, already sniping two goals and playing like he owns that blueline real estate. He’s defending, he’s ripping shots, and he’s making every single cent of that fresh contract look worth it. Add in Simon Benoit—who said “why not me?” and delivered that filthy Game 3 OT dagger—and the Leafs’ defense is suddenly a full-blown problem for the opposition.

And don’t sleep on Morgan Rielly either. The man’s a playoff shapeshifter—regular season rollercoaster, sure, but come postseason? Different animal. He’s already cashed in two goals himself, making him part of this sudden back-end scoring renaissance. So yeah, if the Maple Leafs’ D-core keeps tossing in goals like this and the Core Four keeps doing their thing? Look out. Because Toronto might just be cooking something special—if they can actually, finally, close it out.