Leafs HC Craig Berube sends strong message to team ahead of Round 1 playoff clash against rivals Ottawa Senators

Craig Berube and the Toronto Maple Leafs begin their quest for the Stanley Cup on Sunday night.

The journey starts with the Battle of Ontario, in a matchup against the rival Ottawa Senators. Toronto (108 points), winners of the Atlantic division, will have home ice advantage over Ottawa (97 points), which finished in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The majority of fans, analysts, and insiders are favoring the Maple Leafs to take care of business in this series. However, head coach Craig Berube knows it will be no easy task to take down the pesky Sens, who are frothing at the mouth after snapping a seven-year playoff drought.

He spoke to the media during his pregame interview and broke down what he believes is Ottawa's best attribute. TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston shared Berube's comments on X (formerly Twitter).

"You're not going to get any easy ice against them. None. It's going to be a battle," Berube said.

Craig Berube will have a fully healthy lineup to begin the series, as David Kampf, Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are all available to play. It remains to be seen who will come out of the lineup, though David Kampf practiced as an extra on Saturday, which could indicate that he will be a healthy scratch for Game 1 on Sunday night.

Craig Berube's Toronto Maple Leafs are the favorites to win Game 1 on home ice

To no surprise, the Toronto Maple Leafs are favored to beat the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 on Sunday night.

According to the FanDuel Sportsbook, Toronto is a -162 home favorite, while Ottawa is a +134 road underdog. The Leafs are even bigger favorites to win the series, at -200, with the Sens coming in at +164 to pull off the upset.

While the pressure and expectations are on the Maple Leafs, they can't look past the Senators. Toronto was stymied in all three of their regular-season matchups, being held to just three goals combined by Ottawa's stingy defensive structure. Craig Berube will have to figure out a plan to change his team's fortunes in the postseason.

Game 1 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators goes down on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST.