Sept. 23: NHL Preseason Roundup

John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-1 in a split-squad game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday.

Jake McCabe, Jack Roslovic, Zack MacEwen and Morgan Rielly also scored for Toronto, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 saves.

2026-27 NHL Preseason Stats

Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa. Leevi Merilainen made 21 saves before being replaced by Jackson Parsons after Matthews scored in the third period. Parsons made eight saves.

Stutzle carried the puck up the left side, cut across the crease and tucked in a backhand to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 6:35 of the first period.

The Maple Leafs tied it 1-1 at 7:45 when McCabe jammed in a loose rebound at the right post.

Tavares made it 2-1 for Toronto at 19:09, scoring from low in the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush with William Nylander.

Roslovic scored on the power play to give the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead at 4:49 of the second period, knocking in a rebound from just outside the crease after Tavares tried to jam the puck in at the right post.

MacEwen made it 4-1 at 16:53, tipping in Easton Cowan’s pass into he crease on a 2-on-1 rush, and Rielly scored on a wrist shot from the left circle for a 5-1 Toronto lead at 19:13.

Matthews went bardown to the far side from the left circle to give the Maple Leafs a 6-1 lead at 6:10 of the third period.

Maple Leafs 4, Senators 2: Ryan Tverberg broke a tie late in the third period for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a split-squad game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Henrik Rybinski, Steven Lorentz and Teddy Blueger also scored, and Anthony Stolarz had 19 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Dylan Cozens and Hoyt Stanley scored, and Linus Ullmark had 20 saves for the Senators.

After a scoreless first period, Rybinski put the Maple Leafs on the board 1-0 with a power-play goal at 3:51 of the second. He put the rebound of Vinni Lettieri's shot past Ullmark from the left side of the goal.

Cozens tied it 1-1 at 6:18, stripping Toronto defenseman Blake Smith of the puck in the offensive zone and putting it past Stolarz with a wrist shot from the slot.

Lorentz redirected Marshall Rifai’s shot to put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-1 at 10:01.

Stanley put a backhand shot past Stolarz to tie it 2-2 just 41 seconds later at 10:42.

Tverberg scored on a snap shot from the left dot to put Toronto up 3-2 at 15:43, and Blueger scored into an empty net for the 4-2 final at 19:52.