Brady Tkachuk's Game 1 Status Revealed Ahead of Battle of Ontario

It's going to be a Battle of Ontario in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, something not only refreshing given the last few postseasons, but it harkens back to the early 2000s where the two teams often faced off led by names like Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, Patrick Lalime and Curtis Joseph.

The series is something that fans are clamoring for, and with a potential matchup against Florida in the second round, Toronto is going to need to make a statement and hopefully make it a quick one as well.

But that won't be easy given the news that Brady Tkachuk is expected to skate in Game One, giving the Senators a huge boost both offensively and defensively and making Toronto's life a lot harder.

It's also something a bit historic for the forward, as it's going to be his first playoff series of his career, and to do so against arguably the team's biggest rival is nothing short of a great story.

But don't count out the Maple Leafs just yet, as they are riding a wave of momentum backed by an Atlantic Division title, home-ice advantage, and Mitch Marner's 100-point season giving him all the confidence in the world heading into round one.

Not to mention that Anthony Stolarz has been lights out over his past few starts including three shutouts over his last five games.

He's going to start his first ever playoff game in Game One, and while no doubt nerve-wracking, if he can hold down the fort, it's going to work out well in Toronto's favor.

While Ottawa rested a lot of their stars against the Blackhawks, Toronto played their full lineup against Buffalo, and are still without Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and David Kampf; three critical players whose playoff status is in doubt after some less than ideal comments from Craig Berube.

Tkachuk's return means that it's imperative the Maple Leafs play extra careful especially if they don't have these guys back in time. If the team can make sure that Ottawa doesn't get rolling and play the style that brought them this far, it'll be good news ahead.

But we still have to be wary. Tkachuk's hungry, motivated, and most terrifyingly; healthy. He's gonna give Toronto a big headache all series, let's just hope the team has the right medicine to stop things before it gets worse.