The Toronto-Ottawa playoff series was anything but predictable. The Maple Leafs looked strong leading the series 3-0, until the weekend game where the Senators finally edged past them in the OT win, and then they did it again to close the gap to a 3-2 entering Thursday’s face-off. Just when it looked like there will be a seventh game, Max Pacioretty’s tiebreaking goal with less than six minutes remaining pushed Toronto to a series-clinching 4-2 victory. No wonder Auston Matthews called it a “hard-earned series.” But within just 24 hours, the smiles on their faces faded for a bit as they learned about their second-round opponents– The Florida Panthers.

Back in 2023, the Panthers ended the playoff run in round 2 for the Maples Leafs. And as if fate is playing a game of its own, Florida slashed Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 in Game 5 of the first round at Amalie Arena on Wednesday, to create a rematch. And the underlying storyline of the series will be- Once friends, now enemies. For Maple Leafs’ Matthews, it just might as well be yet another unfortunate reunion of sorts with his collegiate teammate– Matthew Tkachuk.

The two stars of their respective teams, Auston and Matthew, are close buddies off the ice. Of course, the onus goes to successful years together in Ann Arbor, Michigan for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Back when the two played in the same line for the NTDP, Matthew praised Auston and another teammate Jack Roslovic, saying, “I’m put in a good situation right now, playing on a line with two good players. They make it easy for me.” But after a decade, neither of them is going to back down, pushing Matthews to send a clear warning to his team before Monday’s show down.

“It’s going to be another hard series. They’re obviously defending champs, back-to-back cup finals. It’s going to be hard,” Matthews admitted in a post-game interview. “We definitely got to reset and do our homework and rest up. Do what we can and go in there with confidence and go in there with some pushback” 

Well, he certainly doesn’t wish for history to repeat again this time. Like Matthews, the Panthers have also communicated a similar approach heading into round 2.

“They obviously won the division this year,” said defenseman Seth Jones. “They’re a very talented team, very offensive. We have our work cut out for us, but we’ll do the right things the next few days to prepare for that and get ready for Game 1.”

Even Matthew, appearing on The Pat McAfee Show noted, “It’s Round 2. We’ve been in way more high-pressure games and series than this.”

But with the Panthers winning 3 games at the Amalie Arena, putting to rest any arguments of home ice advantage, it’s the Maple Leafs who need stay on their guard. Still, their HC Craig Berube has no concerns about the aggressive, gritty, grinding Florida style of play. He told Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, “I’m very comfortable. I don’t feel worried about it at all. Our team is—they’re ready for it. They understand it. That’s playoffs. It’s going to be hard, and there’s going to be hits, and you’ve got to get up and play.”

The Panthers, with their five straight postseason series wins, are solid proof of how to thrive while playing under pressure. Given that their squad is also backed by a solid core, it’s indeed going to be a challenging one. But at least the two Tkachuk brothers won’t have to face each other.

Auston Matthews ends the brother battle!

With strong performers like William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and many more, the team secured a crucial win last night. While Marner lit it up with two goals and an assist, Auston Matthews added one goal alongside Max Pacioretty to seal the deal late in regulation! But hey, let’s also admit that they stopped an emotional war that could have started between the two brothers from the same family! Because for the older Tkachuk, watching his younger brother, Brady, exit the playoffs felt like a bittersweet relief.

After all, Matthew, who now braces for another intense postseason run, admitted that while the idea of a Tkachuk vs. Tkachuk clash may sound thrilling for fans, it would’ve been emotionally taxing for the family. “Our whole family, um, to see, like, their boys and, you know, brother and whatever, just like, go out there and compete for their dream. But I will say it was way more fun playing with him than it was against him,” Matthew Tkachuk said in an episode of the Up & Adams show. Well, competing against a brother chasing the same dream? Now that’s a line not even playoff glory could blur.

But while Matthew Tkachuk may feel only relief at having to avoid facing off against his brother, Brady was thinking of little else but trying to stay in the playoffs as long as possible. Following their series ending loss Tkachuk said, “It’s devastating. I believed. It’s a tough pill to swallow right now.” He later added, “I really believed that we were going to come back and win the game. Just tough. Just tough.”

Now that the Battle of Ontario is ended, it did leave an emotional mark on the ice as well as in the hearts of two fiercely competitive brothers.