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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are preparing for Game 5 of their first-round series on Monday night. The past three games have gone to overtime, and Jake Sanderson saved Ottawa's season on Saturday in sudden death. During the extra period, Maple Leafs center John Tavares was suddenly yanked off the bench. Before Monday's matchup, Tavares told TSN's Chris Johnston that he was pulled out by the concussion spotters.
“John Tavares says the concussion spotter pulled him out of overtime in Game 4,” Johnston reported. “He cleared the tests to return.”
The good news for the Maple Leafs is that Tavares will be on the ice when they try and close out the series again. Since signing him away from the Islanders in 2018, Toronto has won just one playoff series. Closing out their opponents has been a massive struggle, blowing a 3-1 lead last year to the Bruins. They need Tavares at full strength to win on Monday.
Tavares has two concussions in his career, one from 2010 when he was on the Islanders and one in the 2021 playoffs. The concussion spotter did the right thing by yanking him off the ice, regardless of his concussion history. Thankfully for all parties involved, he ended up okay.
John Tavares is key to Maple Leafs ‘last dance'
That seven-year contract Tavares signed with the Maple Leafs is reaching its final days. He has been spectacular individually since joining his hometown team, but the team's success has not followed. Mitch Marner's contract is also expiring after this playoff run, so this could be a true last dance for Toronto.
That does not mean the Maple Leafs won't be competitive next year. With Craig Berube behind the bench, they have defended much better and gotten better goaltending. Auston Matthews is still going to be there, and one of Tavares and Marner could stay. But the Core Four era could be over this spring.
Many of the trends from prior playoff collapses have been bucked by the Maple Leafs so far in this series. Their power play is running at 38.5%, a massive improvement over last year, where they scored one goal in 21 attempts on the man advantage. Goalie Anthony Stolarz has been more than good enough to win all of these games. And their stars are scoring.
When the Maple Leafs take the ice on Monday, everyone will know what is at stake. Can they close out this series and stop the questions? Or will the slide begin with a home loss to their rivals?
