Battle of Ontario The Battle of Ontario is a rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League , often described as one of the top NHL rivalries . The teams compete in the same division and meet frequently during regular season games and Stanley Cup playoffs . Early history . Games between Ottawa and Toronto ice hockey teams date back before the founding of the NHL , and both the Leafs and the original Senators were founding teams of the NHL . Both cities , along with Montreal , also have histories of Stanley Cup winners . Teams from Ottawa and Toronto once met in a series for the Stanley Cup in February , 1904 , with the Ottawa Silver Seven defeating the Toronto Marlboros . After the original Ottawa NHL franchise folded , Ottawa - area hockey fans became mainly fans of either the Montreal Canadiens , the Maple Leafs , or other NHL teams . A Toronto - Ottawa sports rivalry continued during this time , however , between the Toronto Argonauts and Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) . Modern era . The modern Senators entered the NHL in 1992 , but the rivalry between the two teams did not begin to emerge until the late 1990s . From 1992 to 1998 , Toronto was in the league ' s Clarence Campbell / Western Conference and Ottawa was in the Prince of Wales / Eastern Conference , which meant that the two teams rarely played each other . But before the 1998 – 99 season , the conferences and divisions were re - aligned , and Toronto was moved into the Eastern Conference ' s Northeast Division with the Senators , Canadiens , Boston Bruins , and Buffalo Sabres . By 1999 , both Ottawa and Toronto were elite Eastern Conference teams , annually competing for the division title . Not all Leafs fans in the Ottawa area became Senators fans upon the revival of the Ottawa NHL franchise . This has resulted in a base of Maple Leafs fans who attend Leafs - Senators games in Ottawa . In 2000 , the teams met for the first time in the playoffs , with the Maple Leafs dispatching the Senators in six games . Some Leafs fans saw this as revenge , since the Sens ' Marián Hossa had accidentally clipped the Leafs ' Bryan Berard in the eye on March 11 , nearly ending the young defenceman ' s season and almost his career . The next season , they met again in the first round as Ottawa entered the playoffs ranked 2nd in the East and the Maple Leafs 7th . While the Senators were expected to defeat the Maple Leafs , especially since they had swept the regular season series against them , the Leafs swept the series in a major upset instead ; Ottawa did not score their first goal of the series until 16 : 51 of the third period in the third game . In 2002 , the teams met in the playoffs for the third straight year . The two teams were very evenly matched , and the Maple Leafs managed to win the second - round series in the full seven games and advance to the conference finals . One incident happened late in Game Five when Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson hit forward Darcy Tucker in what Toronto called a hit - from - behind , and then seconds after hitting Tucker in the Leafs zone , he scored the game - winning goal . Tucker suffered an injury on the play , and Alfredsson was not penalized or suspended for it . Tucker had gotten his share of hatred in the first round against the New York Islanders when he wasn ' t penalized for a hit that dislocated the right knee of the Isles ' Michael Peca . That play , despite no punishment for Tucker , was still included in a video of " unacceptable plays " that the NHL sent to all its teams . In 2003 , the rivalry hit an all - time high when Tucker attacked the Senators ' Chris Neil , who was sitting on the bench . This resulted in numerous players exchanging punches before order was restored . Tucker , Neil and Hnidy all received fighting majors and game misconducts for the same incident . After the game , Tucker claimed Neil spit on him , an allegation which Neil denies . The NHL board looked into this claim and concluded that Neil did not do this . Tempers remained frayed , especially with 1 : 23 to play , when Toronto ' s Tie Domi jumped Magnus Arvedson from behind and threw several punches at Arvedson . Domi received a roughing minor , instigator minor , fighting major , misconduct and game misconduct . Arvedson did not get a penalty on the play . The suspensions were announced a few hours after Tucker and Domi appeared at NHL head offices in Toronto for a hearing . Tucker was suspended for five games , without pay , and it was made clear at the hearing that Neil did not spit at Toronto ' s bench . Domi was suspended for three games , also without pay . A total of 163 minutes in penalties were called in the game . The Maple Leafs went on to win the season series , but the Sens still topped off the NHL . Another incident in the regular season fueled the rivalry even more . On January 6 , 2004 , the Maple Leafs were playing a game against the Nashville Predators , when Leaf captain Mats Sundin ' s stick broke on an attempted shot at the blue line and he threw it away in disgust . Instead of hitting the glass , the stick went over and into the crowd . The NHL reacted by giving him a one - game suspension . The game he was suspended for was a game against the Senators in Toronto . During the game , Daniel Alfredsson ' s stick broke , and immediately he faked a toss of his stick into the stands . This caused an uproar with the Maple Leafs , in part because they had also lost the game badly , by a score of 7 – 1 . Alfredsson dismissed the Leafs ' reaction , calling it an over - reaction . This incident added to the rivalry , and Leafs fans continue to boo Alfredsson at games in Toronto . Ottawa and Toronto matched up in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years in 2004 . Alfredsson guaranteed a victory after the Leafs took game 5 . He delivered on his promise in game 6 , but the Sens turned in a lacklustre performance in the series finale . The Leafs beat the Senators in the series . After the NHL lockout the Senators goalie Patrick Lalime was traded to the St . Louis Blues , and Ottawa head coach Jacques Martin was fired after the series . Post - lockout era . In 2006 , the two teams nearly met again in the playoffs , but the Maple Leafs missed qualifying by two points . As the Senators clinched the top spot in the East , the Maple Leafs claiming eighth position would have ensured a first - round match - up . The Sens largely dominated the season series by winning 7 of the 8 games ( including 3 routs of 8 – 0 , 8 – 2 , and 7 – 0 ) . In 2007 , the Leafs nearly qualified for the playoffs , but finished in ninth position , and thereby missing out , for a second consecutive year . Meanwhile , the Senators made it to the Stanley Cup Finals . The 2007 - 08 season was characterized by a share of lopsided victories by the two teams against each other ; for example , wins of 5 - 0 and 8 - 2 . The Leafs failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season , this time by 11 points . Ottawa had also been struggling going into the post - season , finishing in 7th place in the East after a 15 – 2 start and leading the league at one point , barely making it into the playoffs . The Sens were swept 4 – 0 in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins , in a rematch of the previous year ' s series . Although Pittsburgh was heavily favoured to win , the fact that the Leafs ' Mark Bell laid what Jason Spezza described as a " clean dirty hit " on Alfredsson in the April 3 game at Toronto , thereby sidelining him , may have worsened their situation . The 2008 - 09 season was a poor one for both teams , with the Senators finishing 11th and the Maple Leafs 12th in the Eastern Conference . This marked the first time that both Ontario teams failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the Senators joined the National Hockey League in 1992 .