Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev is anticipating an intense series against the Ottawa Senators, which kicks off on Sunday.

When speaking with reporters after the morning skate, the veteran blueliner touched on some key things the Leafs are focusing on in preparation for the fifth and most long-awaited chapter in the Battle of Ontario. Tanev specifically highlighted staying disciplined, given how many penalties were handed out during the playoff openers on Saturday.

“ You see how many penalties were called last night, and there were a lot of power play goals,” he said. “ Power plays are so good in the game right now.  You give a team 3, 4, 5 looks on the power play, it’s gonna end up in the back of your net at some point.”

Headlined by the likes of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, there will be plenty of players on the Senators looking to try and lure the Leafs into taking a penalty. Ottawa’s roster may be lacking overall experience in the playoffs at the time of filing, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to make their mark and bring it to the Leafs.

That’s why Tanev downplayed the notion that the Leafs having more experience won’t be much of a factor, especially given their opponent is getting instructions from his former head coach from his time with the Vancouver Canucks in Travis Green.

“ They’re gonna be ready to go and  they’re gonna be working extremely hard,” Tanev said. “ I don’t think experience is gonna matter too much tonight. I know their coach well, and I know they’re gonna be ready to play and ready to check and play extremely hard.”

Luckily for the Leafs, they will be getting some reinforcement who can help withstand the Senators in Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, both of whom are cleared to return for Game 1. Tanev is pumped that the two defencemen will be back in the lineup because of how integral they have been to the success of the Leafs this season.

It also helps to be guided by head coach Craig Berube, who knows what it takes to guide a team through the marathon that is the Stanley Cup playoffs. That means being prepared for what to expect from their opponent, given they were swept in the season series.

“We’ve talked about what we want to do and what we expect them to do,” Tanev said. “ We’ll be prepared tonight and execute our game plan as best as we can. Be a confident group,  make plays, and hopefully use the home ice, the crowd, the building and the energy to our advantage.”

Above all else, Tanev knows that he and his teammates need to focus on the task at hand, given what is at stake. The Leafs have shown to be comfortable playing in playoff-style games all season long, and their resistance has grown in the years since the Auston Matthews era began nine years ago. But none of that will matter if it doesn’t translate when it matters the most, which means keeping their mentality on nothing but the playoffs.

“ I don’t read or listen to much. You get friends or family sending you the odd thing, but we’re a tight group and we want to keep everything internally as much as we can,” he said. “ We know and I know if we’re playing good or if I’m playing well. I’m harder on myself than anyone’s ever gonna be on me. It’s just staying in the moment. Things happen, you move past it, and you have to grow as a group and embrace the grind of the playoffs because it’s not easy.  There’s, as I said before, swings between periods, let alone series. This is an exciting day to get started.”