Marner leads Maple Leafs in 6-2 win over Senators in Game 1

TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

William Nylander and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto. Auston Matthews added two assists and Anthony Stolarz stopped 31 shots.

“It was intense,” Tavares said. “It’s called the Battle of Ontario for a reason. Hard-fought game. But we know we still can be a lot better.”

Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig scored for Ottawa, and Linus Ullmark finished with 18 saves.

“Have to refocus,” Ullmark said. “It’s just one game. That’s the beauty of it.”

The best-of-seven matchup continues Tuesday with Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena before shifting to Ottawa for two games.

The series opener marked the first playoff Battle of Ontario showdown in exactly 21 years when Toronto bested Ottawa 4-1 in Game 7 on April 20, 2004.

The teams went in opposite directions after that, with Ottawa enjoying a long run of success, including a trip to the 2007 Stanley Cup final, while Toronto made the postseason just once between 2006 and 2016.

The Leafs, who beat the Senators four times in the playoffs across a five-year stretch in the early 2000s, returned to the NHL postseason in 2017 — the last time the Senators made it — with a young core led by Matthews, Marner and Nylander.

The Senators’ rebuild, meanwhile, took a lot longer than expected, but finally gained this season. Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk finally made his playoff debut in his seventh year.

“All year we’ve talked about committing to the process,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “It’s no different now.”

Toronto, which has one series victory in nine tries in the Matthews-Marner era, opened the scoring at 7:09 of the first period when Ekman-Larsson fired past Ullmark’s glove to send the home fans into a frenzy.

“The atmosphere was great,” Stolarz said. “Had goose bumps when you stepped on the ice and the crowd goes nuts. I think that propelled us.”

Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson cleared a puck off his goal line later in the period, but Marner took a stretch pass from Matthews moments later and roofed a shot with 7:42 left for a 2-0 lead.

Ottawa got on the board exactly four minutes later when Batherson was fastest to a rebound Stolarz was unable to smother.

The Maple Leafs' goalie stopped Tkachuk on a breakaway early in the second before Toronto's power play when to work when Tavares knocked in his own rebound at 4:07 to make it 3-1.

Toronto struck 3 seconds into a two-man advantage when Nylander ripped his team’s fourth goal on just 10 shots at 7:19.

Toronto scored on three of six opportunities with the man advantage.

“We took too many penalties, they scored on (them) and that’s the game,” Tkachuk said. “So that’s on us. We’ve got to be more disciplined.”

Fabian Zetterlund had a great opportunity on an Ottawa power play late in the period, but Stolarz was there to keep the score at 4-1 through 40 minutes.

“Timely saves are huge, especially in the playoffs,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “They go a long way.”

Greig got the Senators back within two exactly four minutes into the third on a delayed penalty, but Rielly made it 5-2 just 45 seconds later on a shot that hit a Senators player in front.

Knies rounded out the scoring on another power play with 6:47 left to cap the scoring.

“We definitely have to stay out of the box, I’ll say that,” Green said. “Sometimes things (get) a little out of hand once in a while. I thought there was a couple calls that they did a good job selling, but it’s tough on the refs.

“But we can’t take that many penalties.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews (34) is stopped by Ottawa Senators' goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the second period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Toronto, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators' goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) makes the save as Toronto Maple Leafs' Max Domi (11) tries to deflect the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Toronto, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) celebrates a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Toronto, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes a save against the Ottawa Senators during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators‚ Linus Ullmark (35) kicks away a puck while Toronto Maple Leafs‚ Matthew Knies (23) and Ottawa Senators‚ Artem Zub (2) battle in front of the net during second period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies (23) scores a goal on Ottawa Senators' goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) as Artem Zub (2) tries to defend during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies (23) falls over Ottawa Senators' goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators' Matthew Highmore (15) and Toronto Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit (2) rough it up during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators' Ridly Greig (71) scores a goal on Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) as Simon Benoit (2) tries to defend during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes a save on Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux (28) as Chris Tanev (8) looks for the rebound during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes a save against the Ottawa Senators during third period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16), Auston Matthews (34) and Matthew Knies (23) celebrate a goal against the Ottawa Senators during first period NHL playoff action in Toronto, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) celebrates a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period of an NHL playoff hockey game in Toronto, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) scores on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey playoff action in Toronto, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)