The Toronto Maple Leafs had a chance to bank two early-season points Saturday night, and instead walked out of Scotiabank Arena with a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
That’s the kind of result that stings even in October. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third period, and for stretches it looked like the Leafs were right there to grab control.
Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko each scored their first goal of the season, while Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 26 of 29 shots. But Toronto couldn’t finish the job, and a messy third period swung the game Ottawa’s way.
The Leafs’ best work came in the second period, when Matthews got Toronto on the board with a tip-in off a Morgan Rielly point shot. Less than seven minutes later, Marchenko buried a forehand-backhand chance at the edge of the crease on the power play for his first of the season. The building responded, and for a moment the top line looked like it was starting to find its rhythm.
There’s clearly still a chemistry project happening there. The pieces are in place, but they’re not fully clicking yet, and that’s been the story through the opening games.
Jack Roslovic has been in that first-line mix, and he’s held his own, but there’s also room for the coaching staff to keep tinkering. Gavin McKenna, Easton Cowan and William Nylander were all mentioned as options for a different look if the Leafs want to shake things up.
Nylander himself kept moving around the lineup as head coach Jim Hiller searched for a spark. He spent time on the top line in certain situations and even found himself on the fourth line later in the game.
It was also a milestone night for him, as he picked up his 400th career assist on Matthews’ goal. Through three games, Nylander has looked good, and Hiller has used him as a lever to try to lift the rest of the forward group.
The game changed in the third period, and special teams were the separator. Toronto had two power plays that effectively framed the period, but the second one didn’t look sharp.
Between those opportunities, the Senators drew back-to-back penalties and made the Leafs pay. Ottawa finished the final 20 minutes with a 16-5 edge in shots, and that tilt in the period was enough to decide it.
Bobrovsky was one of the reasons Toronto was still in position to win. The 38-year-old has now started two games for the Maple Leafs, both ending in 3-2 losses, and he’s looked confident and calm in both.
His overall numbers sit at a .887 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against average, with 47 saves on 53 shots, but the eye test says something more encouraging. He’s been big in the crease and has already delivered several important stops.
That matters because so much of Toronto’s season will depend on whether Bobrovsky can resemble the goalie he was a few years ago instead of the version from last season with the Florida Panthers. He’s not going to carry everything alone, but if the Leafs are going to make noise this year, he has to be at the center of it.
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The late push only added to the frustration. Toronto had a 6-on-5 power-play opportunity in the final moments, but the sequence never turned into the kind of sustained pressure the Leafs needed, and Hiller pointed to fatigue setting in as the clock wound down. It left the night with the same sour feeling that follows so many close losses: enough chances to change the result, not enough execution when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
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Leafs Got An Opening Ottawa Could Not Afford To Give Away
Ottawas back end took a hit in the first period against the Maple Leafs when Jake Sanderson left the game injured and did not return. The status of the injury is still unclear, including whether it has anything to do with a previous issue, but his absence immediately changed the feel of the matchup and gave Toronto a chance to push the pace.
The Leafs wasted little time taking advantage, scoring twice in a row after Sanderson exited to grab a 2-1 lead. In a game where every shift mattered, Ottawa could not afford to lose one of its top defensemen, and Toronto quickly showed why those kinds of openings rarely stay closed for long. [Read more 🡒]