Stephen Halliday delivered the winner, Thomas Chabot set the tone in his first night wearing the captain’s “C,” and the Senators opened the season with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Chabot finished with a goal and an assist, Michael Amadio added the other Ottawa goal, and Claude Giroux chipped in two assists as the Senators survived a tight, back-and-forth game at 29 shots apiece. Linus Ullmark stopped 27 shots, though he also saw six pucks ring off the crossbar or post.
The win put Ottawa at 8-1 all time on opening night when facing Toronto.
There was one major worry hanging over the result, though: Jake Sanderson left after six shifts and did not return. Ottawa’s top defenseman had already been dealing with an injury through training camp, and this was another setback after he had just been cleared to rejoin the lineup.
Sanderson appeared to stretch out his leg awkwardly while battling ex-Senator Nick Paul along the boards. Later, cameras showed him looking frustrated on the bench before he exited for good.
Ottawa struck first late in the opening period. With 1:09 left, Chabot jumped into the rush and buried a rebound for his first goal as captain. Giroux and Shane Pinto earned the assists, and the Senators took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Toronto answered quickly in the second. Just 33 seconds in, Auston Matthews tipped a puck past Ullmark to make it 1-1.
The Leafs then moved in front at 7:06 on the power play when Kirill Marchenko finished with a backhand to make it 2-1. It was the first power-play goal against Daniel Alfredsson’s old team since he took over coaching the Leafs’ power-play unit.
Ottawa answered before the period ended. At 12:40, Tim Stützle slipped a saucer pass to Amadio, who buried his first goal of the season to tie it 2-2. Chabot picked up the secondary assist, giving him his second point of the night.
Halliday’s third-period power-play goal broke the deadlock and held up as the difference. Toronto pushed back with chances, but Ottawa also had looks of its own and then shut things down after a suspect holding penalty on William Eklund with about five minutes remaining. From there, the Senators locked in defensively and closed out the result.
Ottawa heads to Boston on Monday and Detroit on Tuesday.
In Other News...
Senators Statement Win Over Leafs Came With One Immediate Concern
Thomas Chabots first night wearing the captains letter gave the Senators exactly the kind of lift they were looking for in a rivalry game. He scored and added an assist as Ottawa edged the Maple Leafs 3-2, a statement win that offered plenty for the home side to feel good about after a tight, physical meeting with Toronto.
But the celebration came with an immediate concern for Ottawas blue line. Jake Sanderson left early after re-aggravating a lower-body injury, an unwelcome turn in a game that otherwise had the look of an encouraging reset for the Senators. Travis Green was left to sort through both the positives of the performance and the uncertainty surrounding one of his key defensemen. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Sanderson Puts Ottawa Back In A Worrying Injury Spot
Jake Sandersons injury situation has quietly become one of the more uneasy storylines around Ottawa as the season gets rolling. The young defenseman has been managing an undisclosed issue since training camp, which has already affected his preseason work and his availability for the regular season opener, and the Senators have been careful to offer only limited detail on where things stand.
The worry now is less about one missed day than about how often this has interrupted his rhythm. Sanderson has also missed some practices, and Ottawas concern is easy to understand given how central he is to the blue line. For a team that needs its top defenders available early, every absence only makes the outlook a little harder to read. [Read more 🡒]
Jake Sanderson Injury Clouds Senators Season Opener
Jake Sandersons night ended early in Ottawas season opener, a frustrating development for a Senators blue line that has leaned heavily on the 23-year-old since he broke into the league. The defenseman is in the third season of his eight-year contract with the club, and any interruption to his availability matters for a team trying to set a steadier tone from the opening game on.
Sanderson left after an awkward collision along the boards in the first period and the Senators later confirmed he would not return. The sequence offered an immediate jolt to an opener that was already carrying plenty of emotion, and it leaves Ottawa waiting to see how quickly it can get one of its most important young pieces back on the ice. [Read more 🡒]