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Paul Bissonnette says Leafs burned opportunity in Game 5, need to bounce back in Game 6

Originally posted on TheLeafsnation | By Dylan Nazareth | Last updated May 1, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Oh, how things can change on a dime in the playoffs.

One week ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs claimed a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators with another overtime win. Now, the Senators have a chance to even the Battle of Ontario in front of their home crowd in Game 6 Thursday night.

Toronto has had two opportunities to put the series away and squandered both. Perhaps most painful was Game 5, where it failed to get on the scoresheet en route to a 4-0 loss at Scotiabank Arena.

NHL on TNT analyst and diehard Leafs fan Paul Bissonnette joined Leafs Morning Take on Thursday, and he had some strong feelings about Toronto’s poor performance in Game 5.

“They laid an egg. Yeah, they took a dump,” he said to co-hosts Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill. “I don’t know, I wasn’t crazy about the effort. But hey, they got another opportunity tonight to prove us wrong and show us that it’s different. Yeah, they kinda put themselves in this situation.”

"They laid an egg. Yeah, they took a dump. I don't know, I wasn't crazy about the effort. But hey, they have another opportunity tonight to prove us wrong.."

– @BizNasty2point0 @thegoldenmuzzy | @Jay_D_Rosehill

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— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) May 1, 2025

Despite still holding the 3-2 series lead, with ghosts of blown series leads past haunting the Maple Leafs, they’re no stranger to heavy criticism for every playoff loss. That being said, Bissonnette still gave them credit for their effort in the game before, where they were defeated in overtime.

“I didn’t think they were too bad in Game 4,” Bissonnette said. “I thought they were solid, it was probably their second best overall effort in this series so far. Obviously Game 1 being their best.”

Gearing up for a third chance to send the Senators packing Thursday night, there’s a high level on anxiety amongst Leafs fans, who have watched this core group fail to clinch series time and again over the past nine years.

“If tonight doesn’t go well, you have to just assume it’s this mental block in these elimination games,” Bissonnette said. “You would imagine at their level in their profession they could ignore the outside noise, but maybe that’s not the case. Maybe they do look at their phones, I guess.”

For Toronto’s sake, let’s all hope they can put the phones away and get down to business tonight, and avoid another do-or-die Game 7.

This article first appeared on TheLeafsnation and was syndicated with permission.

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