MAPLE LEAFS 4, SENATORS 3
Fear not, folks, it’s only an exhibition game.
The Ottawa Senators opened the pre-season with a 4-3 loss in the first round of the Battle of Ontario against the Toronto Maple Leafs in front of 16,254 on Sunday afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The real games don’t begin until Oct. 9 when the regular season gets started for Ottawa, but Olle Lycksell, Arthur Kaliyev and Ridly Greig did the scoring for the Senators on Sunday, with the rematch set for Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
“We did a lot of good things,” said coach Travis Green. “I thought in the first period our execution with the puck wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be. I like that we stayed with the game when we were down 3-0, and I thought we had a lot of chances to score more goals.”
Toronto Maple Leaf Calle Jarnkrok tries to get the puck from Ottawa Senator Tyler Kleven with Arthur Kaliyev looking on as the Senators host the Leafs in preseason action at the Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025.
Defenceman Tyler Kleven appeared to hurt his ankle, hitting the boards hard in the third, and didn’t return after leaving. There was no update after the game.
ULLY OFF THE MARK
It turns out Linus Ullmark’s assessment of his training camp may not have been far off the mark.
He noted after the first couple of days that he’d been “terrible,” and Ullmark didn’t get off to a great start in this one. He surrendered three goals on eight shots as the club trailed 3-0.
That meant Mads Sogaard finished the game.
William Villeneuve opened up the three-goal gap by firing one home on the power play with two minutes left in the first. Nick Robertson gave Toronto a 2-0 lead with a shot that should have been stopped at 12:47.
Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark reacts to the third first-period goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. William Villeneuve scored the goal against Ullmark, who gave up the three goals on eight shots.
Nothing like falling behind fast. Calle Jarnkrok opened the scoring for the Leafs on the first shot Ullmark faced. That was 47 seconds into the game when Jarnkrok swept it home on the stick side.
Ullmark didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
“Better to get that over with in the first start than saving that one for the season,” Ullmark said.
How much stock do you put in a pre-season game?
“None. The first one is to get your routines in, get a feel for the game, and after that you kind of make an assessment. It’s hard; I only played one period. I only played 20 minutes. If I played all three and faced more shots, it could have been a pretty good outing,” Ullmark said.
There was concern when Ullmark wasn’t on the bench for the final 40 minutes, but it was all part of the plan.
“That was a decision from the higher-ups. It’s still a pre-season game, sitting around for two periods, so I did a lift (in the gym) and took care of the body,” Ullmark said. “I did that sort of thing instead.”
MIXING AND MATCHING
A lot of eyes are on the right side of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle.
While Fabian Zettlerlund is the odds-on favourite, the Senators gave veteran Claude Giroux another look on Sunday. Lines change all the time, but this is one area Green has a decision to make.
Giroux was there most of last season.
An area where the Senators have depth is at centre.
Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux looks to steal the puck away from Toronto Maple Leaf Philippe Myers on Sunday at the Canadian Tire Centre.
It was interesting to see Green opt to use Greig at centre between David Perron and Drake Batherson.
It was Greig who opened the scoring for the Senators. He was on the doorstep to pick up a rebound of a Batherson blast to cut Toronto’s lead to 3-1 at 1:45 of the second.
“It took me a period to settle in there, but I got comfortable, and then kind of went from there,” said Greig, who finished with a goal and an assist.
A FEW FIREWORKS
The Atlantic Division will be a tough test this season.
The Florida Panthers have shown that you have to be hard-nosed to win a Stanley Cup, and there were a handful of tussles in this one. Zack MacEwen dropped the gloves with Marshall Rifai late in the second.
That came on the heels of a skirmish that started after Kleven got Michael Pezetta with a big hit. Batherson fought Rifai, but Perron came in to try to give Batherson a hand.
Along the boards, Greig had a little dance with Pezetta.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is denied as Toronto Maple Leaf William Villeneuve goes tumbling over his goalie, Artur Akhtyamov, during the preseason opener at the Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025.
“(Batherson) told me that he had a dream he was going to get in one (a fight) tonight,” Greig said of a conversation he had with Batherson in the penalty box. “I don’t know how he thought of that, but it was pretty funny.”
THE LAST WORDS
The Senators did make three decisions on Sunday by sending Gabriel Eliasson, Blake Vanek and Eerik Wallenius back to their junior teams.
The club now has 49 players, including 29 forwards, 15 blueliners and five goalies. The Senators are expected to make more roster decisions before they head to Quebec City for two exhibition games.
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