Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews makes feelings known about Sens' Brady Tkachuk ahead of Battle of Ontario Round 1 playoff clash

Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk will meet in Round 1 of the NHL playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished first in the Atlantic Division and will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series against the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa grabbed the first wild-card spot in the East.

In his media availability on Saturday, Matthews was asked about Tkachuk ahead of Sunday’s Game 1. He said Tkachuk is a competitor who plays hard and stays near the net.

"Yeah, he's a competitor," Auston Matthews said (0:30). "He's a guy that is going to do whatever it takes, and physically he's going to be around the net, so he's going to be a guy that we have to do a good job on in all aspects of that area."

Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson is also playing well this season. He has scored 11 goals and 46 assists and played 80 games.

Matthews, Sanderson and Tkachuk played together for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Sanderson joined the team as a replacement for defenseman Quinn Hughes and lost 3-2 to Canada in overtime.

In that event, Auston Matthews was the team captain, so he talked about being around Sanderson and Tkachuk.

"Great player," Matthews said. "Especially in that setting, when you're around guys more and you're skating together, you really realize how gifted and talented some guys are and skilled. That was my takeaway with him.

"Similar to Brady, he's another guy we got to key on, make sure we're limiting his time and space out there, and making sure we know where he is at all times because he's very elusive."

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Auston Matthews and Leafs looking for a deep playoff run, like the Senators

The Maple Leafs have made the playoffs nine years in a row but have won only one series. Last year, they lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. Ottawa’s previous playoff appearance was in 2017, when they reached the conference final. Thus, both teams will look to make a deeper run this time.

Auston Matthews has dealt with injuries this season, missing 15 games, but he still scored 33 goals and added 45 assists. On Thursday, he scored in a 4-3 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings, finishing tied with Sidney Crosby for 26th in goals this season.

Tkachuk also returned from an upper-body injury, missing eight games before playing Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. He had three shots and a minus-2 rating in 10:37 of ice time. Coach Travis Green said his early exit was precautionary. So, Tkachuk is expected to play Sunday in a top-six role with power-play time.