At points during the series between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, David Perron sees a game he's far too familiar with.
In 2019, Perron joined the St. Louis Blues on a four-year, $16 million contract. Little did he know that several months later, after a mid-season coaching change, he'd be winning the Stanley Cup.
Six years later, Perron is back in the playoffs with the Senators, battling against a familiar face: Craig Berube, who guided the Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019.
Berube has constructed Toronto as a defensively sound team that is closing lanes, blocking shots, and physical at both ends of the rink. The Maple Leafs also have more playoff experience than Ottawa, which has made it difficult for the Senators to generate success.
Perron, though, has seen this blueprint before. He sees many similarities between this Maple Leafs team and the 2019 Blues.
"At times, they have a shooting lane, and they just keep driving the puck a little deeper, they delay, they hang onto it," Perron said Friday.
"We have our fair share of o-zone time and they do as well. It's not like they are killing us on that part, I don't think. But yeah, I do see some stuff that pops in my head and I know where it comes from."
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When asked point-blank whether Berube's coaching style is built for playoff hockey, the veteran forward said, "Yeah, I do," without missing a beat.
Toronto has had the upper hand over Ottawa in many categories throughout the three-game series. Their goaltending has been better, their power play is more successful, and their top players — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares, specifically — are acting like their top players.
'When You Give Him That, He's Never Missing': Auston Matthews Breaks Out Of Goal Rut In Maple Leafs' Series-Shifting Win Over SenatorsThirty-two seconds into the third period of Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators, Mitch Marner showed why he was Mitch Marner.
But now comes the toughest part for the Maple Leafs: closing out the series. In recent memory, Toronto has lacked a killer instinct. In their last eight playoff appearances, they've only eliminated one team, the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023.
If anything could change under Berube, it's how the Maple Leafs approach a game where their destiny lies in their hands. In the past, their play has been out of kilter in big games.
'I Don't Think This Is Anything': No Stranger To Pregame Shenanigans, Maple Leafs' Craig Berube Recalls Getting Into One As A Player KANATA, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs will keep their focus on trying to sweep the Ottawa Senators when the teams face off in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday. But Toronto head coach Craig Berube couldn't help but crack a smile as he was asked about the NHL investigating a pre-game incident allegedly involving Senators forward Nick Cousins firing a puck at Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz in warmup.
Let's see if that changes in Game 4 on Saturday, where Toronto can end the Battle of Ontario with a win in the nation's capital.
"I think as a group, it’s always a work in progress. I think that last game is always the most difficult, and we expect it to be the most competitive," Morgan Rielly said Friday.
"So for us, we’re not getting carried away with anything, we’re just focusing on building our game and growing and playing within structure and becoming more comfortable, increasing the execution."
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