The season was characterized by a share of lopsided victories by the two teams against each other; for example, wins of 5–0 and 8–2. The Maple Leafs failed to make the playoffs for the third-straight season, this time by 11 points. Ottawa finished in seventh place in the East after a 15–2 start and leading the league at one point, barely making it into the playoffs. The Senators were swept 4–0 in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of the previous year's series. Although Pittsburgh was heavily favoured to win, the fact that the Maple Leafs' Mark Bell laid what Jason Spezza described as a "clean dirty hit" on Daniel Alfredsson in the April 3 game at Toronto, thereby sidelining him, may have worsened their situation.