OverDrive - York on the Maple Leafs leading the series, the Senators' game faults and Toronto's impactful players

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

Former NHLer and Coming In Hot Podcast Host Jason York joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Battle of Ontario, the Maple Leafs' series lead against the Senators, Simon Benoit's overtime winner, the insight on the Senators' performances, the elements of the Maple Leafs' skills against Ottawa in the series, and more.

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Join today and be part of something amazing. Here's former NHL or former Ottawa Senator and cohost of the Coming In Hot Podcast. There he is, Jason York. What's up, Yorkie? Hazy, hazy. I'll answer that question to you. Have you ever had a broom pasta on the ice

i have not a good feeling it's not a good feeling i don't know about noodles and old dog but i i've been swept and you don't want to get swept you at least want to get one trust me trust me and the other guys i know i'll say the same thing yeah we got swept uh... my first year in the playoffs like that. It's

94, 1994 the New York Rangers beat the New York Islanders. I was with the Islanders, the Rangers swept us and it was, it was, we came in third. Now listen, the sense of play better. Yes, better than your Islanders, is that what you're saying Noodle? The sense of play way better than my islanders put it that way we came in third in that series you can ask ray ferraro but i thought you gotta get one jimmy because when you tell somebody when you retired there like you talk about all days like how how's that series and you know it was lost in four of them they think about the go

i'll see you got swept there are a lot of people are yeah we actually do we got pumped yeah you don't got pumped you know what that you know about it uh... you know what he's a you know i hear you i i think that i i think i probably i probably knew that it's a before i asked it but uh... but you know we've been kind of we've been talking about the positives

from a maple east and one of the they're right in front of us but is there a glass half full but putting the three nothing aside like what what is your viewpoint of you know how auto was played in kenya kenya formulate any argument that would suggest a day they actually should feel better about themselves than what the series total might suggest right now well two games and went to overtime so and and we all watch those games both those games

could have one at either either way the game one They just took way too many penalties and Toronto's got a crazy good power play You got you got four world-class guys on the power play and Neal under Marner Matthews and I don't think enough people are talking about John Taveras. That guy's having a hell of a series. Like, anybody that thought he was done is crazy. I think he's been really good. But yeah, like, is there some glass half full things? Sure.

Timmy Sussleif, I think, is playing really well. He's not getting the points. But I'll say this. The goal of the Ottawa Senators this year, if I'm going to go half full, was to make the playoffs. And I know Noodles did a lot of games and that's what everybody was trumpeting. So they made it. If they were playing the Washington Capitals or the Florida Panthers in the first round,

I think people would have a lot easier time than this, especially the fan base. But because it's the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's a sore spot. And that's why you don't want to get swept. They got to win the next game to hopefully avoid that. But it's, Stutsel's played well. And if you look at their center-rights position and you really break it down, Stutsel's first playoff, Pinto's first playoff, Ridley Gregg, I know he's not a center, sometimes he is his first playoff, Dylan Cousins' first playoff. They got Adam Gadette, who's really a winger, playing center on your fourth line, doing a pretty good job.

Then you compare that to Toronto with Matthews, Tavares, Domi. I love what they did getting Lawton. That's four guys with a ton of experience. When you're really dumb it down, Ottawa, should they be down three-nothing? Probably not, but Toronto came in. They're just at a totally different spot of where they should be. They're a team that's ready to win right now. Ottawa's a team that's trending upwards, so it is what it is.

Yorkie, take me through what you think the inexperience means come playoff time. I mean, is it young guys, you just mentioned how much of them are quality players, their first playoff experiences. Why is it kind of a struggle? Do they have to just get a taste of it? Because they're good players and it's a do it now league. But let's fast forward it to next year. What will they take away from this to say, oh, okay. Because in my view, it's like you just have to elevate and play better. You don't have to play more physical than you usually do.

You just have to get to a different level and play better than you ever have. And I think it takes, I don't know why it takes time, but it does for guys to figure that out. Hey, you know, like, you just said it right there. Like, I look at that first game, a lot of guys seemed very tentative. Like I thought Thomas Chabot and Noodles did a ton of games down the stretch. I thought he was arguably their best player the last month of the season. First playoff for him, I'm like, he just looks tentative. And until you, like we've all played

in the playoffs, until you experience it, it's just a different kind of pressure. So it'll take a lot out of this. And just, it's little things like in Ottawa, people are talking like crazy about the play, about the, about the face-off. So just the importance of winning draws, the importance of managing the puck. You take Drake Batherson, for example. I thought he was lights out in game one. Game two, just makes a bad decision with the puck at the wrong time. And then a couple fly-bys, one by Cousins, one by Batherson.

So just little details. And if you slip up for a minute in the playoffs And these are lessons the Toronto's learned right like how many times is Toronto? Turn the puck over at the blue line in the past made a bad decision with the puck and it comes back to bite you Eventually, I have to learn don't you and it looks like it looks under Craig Barube. I'll say this I was saying this from the press box You compare this version of the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Sheldon Keefe era, I think the first period of game one, the Leafs dumped the puck in more in the first 10 minutes and hit guys more than I saw in the entire, entire tenure under Sheldon Keefe.

But that's how you win in the playoffs, you put pressure on other teams D and you get deposits in the bank and you hit guys over and over and over again. Hey, the Leafs have played simple. They've capitalized on their opportunities, and they're just doing the little things better than Otto is, and that's the difference. And the goaltender. Yeah, I agree.

The goaltender's been a save better or more in the games. I don't disagree. Are you surprised that it hasn't been, I don't know what the right word is. I think there's been hits, but it hasn't, we haven't seen a lot of scrums. We haven't seen, and I don't know if that's the Leafs discipline or if it's Ottawa's tentative, hey, we don't want to take a scrum because we don't want to put them on the power play. But you're watching, you know, I've been watching games right throughout the league every night and you're like, okay, there's, there's this different type of physicality. And I don't know if this series has had it yet or not yet, but it's three cobs.

So, but it hasn't raised to that level of like every shift. It's like a big hit, big play, big, it just hasn't had that. It's more just like been workman like if that makes sense. I'm saying I'm seeing the same thing noodles. I'm not surprised. But I think to a man especially that game one, Ruby had a talk with Toronto today. This is a young team. They're going to come in the truck and try and be physical. They're going to be all jacked up for game one. And how many times did Toronto get on the on the power play for? You know borderline plays but still Toronto or Ottawa was trying to play physical and a couple hits from behind and Toronto

Was lights out in that playoff. So I think it's worked to Toronto's advantage like just play between the whistles And and really like what's it been 20 years since the last battle of Ontario? None of these guys were part of it. Some of these guys weren't even born So I think it takes a while to develop hate like those those old school Toronto Ottawa playoffs You it took a while like it took a while and these guys like they they they hear about it But until you experience it, they it, it takes a while to start simmering. It really does.

With Jason York, I think that's exactly what it is. I think the fans have been referencing the Battle of Ontario, but the players on both sides, they don't know. Why would they? How would they? Outside of Max, don't they? Yeah. And even Max was five years old. he can't really remember.

He doesn't really know. He just wants McDonald's in the dressing room after or something like that. He probably left after the first period. Oh my God, there's that old hit from Alfred. This took a while and Domi went to the boards with Ricard Pearson, Travis Green getting involved. It's just, and also too, I think the way Toronto is built, like their power play, they don't want to get involved after the whistle.

They want to make sure that they're initiating and not retaliating. And that's smart. And it served them well getting up in the series. And also too, like the days of I Remember Ottawa had that series against Montreal when you had the five on five brawl. You just don't see it I think the most fireworks we've seen is his friendly Greg Over at Solars before the game. Yeah Really? You're gonna get five to that like come on, too. I don't know dog

That's two old teammates just having some laughs So I don't we had a discussion about it Yorkie and it's like we can't even believe I'm talking about it was I Don't even know how that came to somebody's attention like that stole ours go to chief and say This guy ripped the pocket me and then it got report How else would that even like how would that be taken to another level other than that camera catching it with I don't think some guy some nerd was up there in the in the top row going I got to report a shot take it again call I don't know how the golf line the golf line where they call his club hit the sand two-shot penalty

grades a couple pe couples there is a straight books i uh... i don't know but did you guys see the uh... i i was scrolling through today and then all the sudden i see the uh... mark andrea flurry going back to a playoffs against uh... against washington and all the came across the line and flurry goes over and and and chops of my kids and and i don't think i nothing came out that was way worse

then we have a little cousins and stores last night but uh... yeah we'll see you know you're right about the discipline like i have i have a mental image from game one when it was carried away with six to end of the game and david prawn was chasing j mccabe around those are veterans that have played each other probably a

you know twenty times thirty times a promise trying to engage in it it would have been easy to scram punch hit fight even there would have mattered and mccabe just wouldn't do it thank you just wouldn't even think about you could tell the ruby told them nothing get out of here we have a win yeah and it's been consistent and it's it's worked well for the leaves so uh... but we'll see what comes of it tomorrow night.

What do we expect in New York? Do you think Ottawa gets one tomorrow night? You gotta think so. Like the law averages, don't they have to come into play? Ottawa's played some pretty good hockey. You'd think they deserve a little bit better of fate. So if I was going to bet this game, I i would take the sense but i don't know the way so it's just plain right now like he is what is a lot of the eleven when the man was around yes yeah

eleven or twelve is on there yeah he's either some he's on some kind of run right now you're playing great yet the only thing i mean my instinct is that it's going to be a close game and maybe ottawa gets one or it's going to be curtains and it's a big big score six-nothingly yeah like something not you know if something happens early and they're down two or three like i just that's what concerns me like

i think it'll be a tight hard fought game but if there's anything that sways were hey this is a two goal lead for toronto that that too could be four. A bad break early and a power play goal for the Leafs would be back breaking. You're right, like the law of averages. But that being said, it just, last night, like Hayes, you called it, it was Ottawa scored first, right? They hadn't done that in the series.

So that is where I will, I'll take my indicator from how the first period goes and who scores first and how you see that momentum. Right now, we've all been, I don't know if you've ever been down or Hayes, against the Rangers, I was down three-cub. And going into that fourth game, you're going, we're going to see how this unfolds. You play loose and driving, right? Like I don't, I think the Cents can play loose and driving. Like go and play. Go play hockey.

You know, and the Leafs are trying to finish it off. So that's, you know, it can kind of go either way here. All right. Well, we'll see what comes. Well, the biggest thing for me, fellows, is I always miss them, they's missing that crazy in this series. To me, that's a sign that you're too tense. You're trying to be too perfect with your shot selection.

And to Noodle's point, you're down 3-0. Now you're playing like, hey, there's nothing to lose now. Maybe relax and start to get some offense because you're not going to win too many games if you only to work to goals so yeah i think i would get to done this uh... i was at the last and it was fantastic the atmosphere and i saw him hoping for the people here in ottawa they don't get swept because it would uh... it would be nice for this fan base

has been a long time since they've been in the playoffs and uh... we need we need more badly on terry can't just have it golds and just have four games Let's continue this party. I'm with you on that He is Jason York former NHL or Ottawa senator coming in hot podcast host and we always appreciate you finding time Yorkie Thank you for doing this Cheers fellas. There he is Jason York To the party we did

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