Thornton scores in Maple Leafs' win, split back-to-back with Senators

OTTAWA-- Joe Thornton scored his first goal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

Thornton and linemates Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews combined for seven points.
"I wanted to give it over to [Auston] but they kind of took him away, so I kind of saw the goalie cheating a bit so I shot," Thornton said of his first-period goal. "The amount of attention that these two guys get, I've just got to get open for them and just be ready to shoot the puck and be ready to distribute to these guys."

Marner scored and had two assists, and Jack Campbell made 17 saves in his season debut for the Maple Leafs (2-1-1).
"He looked excellent," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said of Campbell. "It's a tough night for a goalie; he [went] long stretches without shots, and we did still give up some looks at the net, guys in behind us and those kind of things."
Tim Stutzle scored his first NHL goal, and Matt Murray made 38 saves for the Senators, who defeated the Maple Leafs 5-3 in their season opener here Friday.
"We just couldn't create much, ourselves," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "Give them credit. They came to play, they checked, worked really hard, they penalty kill did the job for them (5-for-5) and their goaltending was good."

Nicholas Paul collected a point shot that hit him in the slot and scored with a snap shot to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 10:55 of the first period.
Thornton scored with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot at 14:17 to tie it 1-1. The 23-season NHL veteran signed with Toronto as a free agent this offseason.
"I thought it was a great goal, a great sequence by that line," Keefe said. "That line, you could tell, right from the drop of the puck today, was going to have a night."
Marner's wrist shot from the top of the slot squeaked under Murray's arm to make it 2-1 at 1:10 of the second period. Matthews one-timed a drop pass from Marner on the power play to make it 3-1 at 2:42 of the third period.
"It's been so fun with 'Mitchy' and [Matthews]," Thornton said. "We have a lot of fun out there. I think we'll continue to keep growing as a line because we are having fun and we get excited before every game, and I think you can tell each game we're getting better, and that's a real good sign. I love playing with those two kids."

Stutzle waited for an airborne puck to land and one-timed it as soon as it hit the ice to make it 3-2 at 11:44.
"I have more confidence, for sure," Stutzle said when comparing his second NHL game to his first Friday. "I felt better making my plays. I'm kind of a creative player, so I want to have the puck and make plays. I thought today I played with more confidence and it worked out pretty good."
Stutzle led Ottawa with three shots on goal in 14:52 of ice time.
"He's going to be a really good player," Smith said. "You can see his speed. And it's great he gets that [goal]. I think you're going to see more and more of that as the year goes on."
NOTES: Nick Robertson, a forward making his NHL regular-season debut for the Maple Leafs, left the game in the first period with a knee injury. Keefe said Robertson needs an MRI and will "definitely miss some time." ... At 19 years and one day old, Stutzle is the third youngest player in Senators history to score his first goal (Alexandre Daigle, 18 years and 244 days; Pavol Demitra, 18 years and 314 days). ... Forward Colin White (one assist, 11:24 of ice time) and defenseman Mike Reilly (two blocked shots, 17:04 of ice time) each made his season debut for the Senators. ... Thornton has 421 NHL goals with the Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks.