The Maple Leafs left Wednesday night with a much better feeling than they had coming out of the weekend, and they did it by sweeping a split-squad set against the Senators.
Toronto won both games, rolling to a 6-1 result in one matchup and taking the other 4-2. The 6-1 game featured most of the Leafs’ main group in Toronto, while the 4-2 win was handled by depth players and Marlies regulars in the other building.
It was a sharp contrast from the losses to Montreal, and the Leafs used the night to check off a few big preseason questions.
Gavin McKenna was the biggest reason for the buzz. In just his second preseason game, the first-overall pick looked electric.
He set up John Tavares’ first-period goal for his first unofficial point in a Maple Leafs sweater, then later pulled off another slick move that drew a hooking call on Kasper Halttunen. That penalty turned into Jack Roslovic’s first preseason goal, a power-play finish.
McKenna’s early showing had the crowd buzzing, and the talent level was obvious throughout the night. It’s still too early to make any hard declarations, but he already looks like the kind of player who can make a preseason shift feel like a highlight reel.
The goaltending picture also came out looking cleaner.
Sergei Bobrovsky was in net for the 6-1 game and stopped 13 of 14 shots. He didn’t have to steal the night, but he did his job behind a Leafs team that gave him decent support.
The only real blemish came on a first-period sequence after a Darren Raddysh hiccup, when Tim Stutzle made the blue jerseys look bad. Toronto got caught on a poor line change, and Raddysh looked slow and flat-footed on the play.
In the other game, Anthony Stolarz handled the crease and stopped 19 of 21 shots. Toronto’s depth group played a physical game in front of him, and the bottom six brought plenty of grit against a mostly AHL Ottawa lineup with a few of the Senators’ top players mixed in. If the Leafs can keep giving their goalies that kind of support, Bobrovsky and Stolarz won’t need to stand on their heads.
The top six was every bit as lively as the goaltending was steady. Auston Matthews finished with three points, including a goal and two assists.
Tavares matched him with three points of his own, and Roslovic also piled up three. William Nylander added an assist, and it was a pretty one, with McKenna’s play helping start the sequence that turned into a 2-on-1 rush and a finish.
For stretches, Toronto’s best players made it all look easy. That won’t happen every night once the season starts, but Wednesday gave the Leafs plenty to like.
The preseason is now done, and the focus shifts to September 29, when Toronto opens the regular season and gets a chance to show the weekend losses meant nothing.
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