Leafs vs. Senators Pre-Season Takeaways

MATTHEWS, MARLEAU HOOK UP TO PRODUCE GAME'S FIRST GOAL
1. Wednesday's pre-season game was the second in as many nights between the Leafs and Senators, but the rosters for both squads were drastically different - and in the first preseason action for Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau, the forwards connected for the game's first goal at 4:15 of the second period.
Marleau set up Matthews beautifully down low and to the right of Senators' goalie Craig Anderson, and when you give a talent like Matthews an open net, there's no question what will happen next. In this case, it was the breaking of a scoreless tie that lasted more than a full period.

ANDERSEN IN TOP FORM IN FIRST PRE-SEASON APPEARANCE
2. Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen is starting his third season as a Leaf, and in his first preseason appearance - Curtis McElhinney and Garret Sparks combined to help Toronto beat Ottawa 4-1 on Tuesday - Andersen looked in mid-season form, turning aside all 19 shots he faced (including the final eight shots of the second period) through 40 minutes of action.
Marlies standout Calvin Pickard entered the crease to start the third, but Andersen had already made his statement to begin the year: he's focused and ready for the regular season to begin.
BRACCO EXTENDS LEAFS' LEAD WITH QUICK STRIKE MIDWAY THROUGH THIRD
3. Winger Jeremy Bracco has been honing his craft in the Ontario League (and last season, with the American League's Marlies) since the Leafs drafted him in the second round (61st overall) in 2015. And the Freeport, N.Y. native was rewarded for it when blueliner Calle Rosen picked up the puck at the sideboards in Ottawa's defensive zone and made a terrific pass that set Bracco up all alone in front of Sens goalie Mike McKenna. Bracco quickly ripped it into the net to double Toronto's advantage with just over half of the third period to go.

SENS GET ON SCOREBOARD, BUT LEAFS NEWCOMER ENNIS SCORES TWICE TO SEAL SECOND STRAIGHT WIN
4. Senators centre Filip Chlapiik cut Toronto's lead in half with a power play marker at 13:25 of the third, but the Leafs answered back less than four minutes later when winger Tyler Ennis - who was signed in the summer to serve as a speedy, skilled winger - took advantage of a Sens turnover and rifled a shot past McKenna to make it 3-1.

5. Less than three minutes later, Ennis added his second goal of the game when he scored an empty-netter with 20 seconds left in regulation time. That sealed the deal and the Leafs will leave Ottawa having beaten the Senators by the same score on two consecutive nights.