Last year, the Ottawa Senators failed to win the big game, after losing in game 7 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This year, they did win the big game, as their 3-2 overtime win over the Florida Panthers helped secure the Toronto Maple Leafs a playoff spot.

That’s right, the Leafs officially have the X beside their name, and they can say what they’ve been waiting to say for a couple of months now.

The Leafs went into tonight not playing a game, but they had two opportunities to clinch a playoff spot. Either the Pittsburgh Penguins had to beat the New Jersey Devils in regulation, or the Ottawa Senators had to beat the Florida Panthers, and the Leafs would officially clinch a playoff spot. New Jersey lost in overtime, which meant that Ottawa had to do the job.

This definitely is a much different scenario, which saw the Leafs clinch a spot on the last weekend of the playoffs amidst a 1-3 stretch against Washington, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and Columbus.

Of course, the expectations were a lot different as well. While last season’s Leafs were a pleasant surprise in the playoffs, this season they were expected to be a surefire playoff team, and perhaps even contend for the Cup. While the second one doesn’t seem as likely, there’s still a decent chance depending on how the first two rounds go.

Barring the Leafs winning out and the Bruins or Lightning losing out, the Leafs seem to have a firm hold of third place in the Atlantic, and will face either of the aforementioned Bruins or Lightning in the first round.