Leafs lock up 1st in Atlantic, book opening-round series vs. Senators

The Battle of Ontario is headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

The Toronto Maple Leafs secured first place in the Atlantic Division after beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on Tuesday night, setting up a highly anticipated first-round meeting with the Ottawa Senators.

"It's going to be a bloodbath," Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz said of the impending matchup, per The Athletic's Joshua Kloke. "It's going to be a war."

The outcome also locked in the Battle of Florida, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers will meet for the second straight postseason. The Bolts bested the defending champions 5-1 during Tuesday's slate to split the four-game season series.

Toronto has never finished atop the Atlantic before, though the club dominated the realigned, all-Canadian North Division during the 2020-21 campaign. Before that, the Leafs won the Northeast Division in 1999-2000.

Mitch Marner hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career on Tuesday after potting the Maple Leafs' second goal of the game in the third period.

"It's a special thing, for sure," he said of his milestone, per NHL.com's Heather Engel. "Those accomplishments don't happen by yourself, and that's just credit to a lot of guys in that locker room that have helped me out and supported me through this year and made some unbelievable plays for me and have put some in from my passes.

"I think the really cool thing is just the excitement from the guys for that point and seeing their excitement for me."

Sniper Auston Matthews recorded his 400th career tally minutes later with an empty-netter. He's the franchise's second skater to reach the mark and the sixth fastest player to hit it in NHL history, per StatsCentre:

"I think it's nice to check off certain things, obviously," Matthews said. "But the focus is still on the team and doing what's best for the team, and continue to put our best foot forward here. One more game and then the postseason."

Stolarz made 35 saves in the shutout victory. He's won his last eight games and owns a .950 save percentage over that span.

The game was locked in a scoreless tie until Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz broke the ice in the late stages of the second frame.

Toronto also set a new franchise record with its 25th road win of the campaign.

The Maple Leafs will face the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday before turning their attention to the Senators. Ottawa swept the regular-season series against Toronto.

The Senators also own a 6-1-0 record against the Leafs over the past two seasons. Toronto has been red-hot as of late, though, with a 12-2-1 run since mid-March.

The Maple Leafs are headed to their ninth consecutive postseason, while Ottawa qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017.