A statement win.
The Ottawa Senators outshot the Toronto Maple Leafs 40-23 en route to a 5-2 victory on Hockey Night in Canada, the club’s sixth win in its past eight games.
And the Sens are now five points out of a playoff spot.
No time to waste. Let’s get to grading.
ForwardsTim Stutzle: B+
Standing flat-footed in the left corner on the power play, it’s either super impressive that Stutzle was able to find Cozens with a seam pass for the 5-1 goal or a scathing indictment of Toronto’s defensive structure. Either way, it was a heck of an assist by the German. And two days after he missed the morning session due to illness, Stutzle had quite the spirited game, racking up four hits and three shots in 18:31 of ice time.
Brady Tkachuk: A-
Tkachuk had a brilliant setup on the 1-1 goal, finding the trailer, Thomas Chabot, with a one-touch pass. Tkachuk got into the rough stuff in the latter half of the game. That’s good to see from the captain, who has had back-to-back vivacious games since returning from the Olympics with a gold medal. He finished with six hits and six shots in 15:37.
Fabian Zetterlund: A
His star teammates stole the headlines on Saturday, but Zetterlund made multiple goals happen. Ahead of the 2-1 goal, Zetterlund gains the blue line with speed, rips around the net and gets the puck back to the D for a point shot. And his hard-nosed play in front — bearing down on a rebound and then following up with a physical play on Jake McCabe — helped create Drake Batherson’s 3-1 goal.
Dylan Cozens: A+
It was a tough start for Cozens, skating to the penalty box after high-sticking John Tavares on his opening shift, but what followed was one of his better games of the season. He navigated the neutral zone with ease in the first, showing off his skill and gaining ground with numerous skill moves. The offence came in the second. He got rewarded for parking in front of the net when Troy Stecher awkwardly blocked a Chabot point shot, and the puck landed on Cozens’ stick for an easy goal. In the same frame, Cozens took a centring pass from Stutzle and beat Joseph Woll with a wrist shot that nicked off the goalie’s glove. Cozens also had an assist on Chabot’s 1-1 goal.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz makes a save on Ottawa Senators right- winger Drake Batherson on a breakaway during the third period in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
Drake Batherson: A
The puck found Batherson in dangerous spots all night, but it was his work in the corners, along the walls and in puck pursuits that created those opportunities. He beat Woll bar-down with a quick wrist shot from the right slot for the 3-1 goal, then intelligently anticipated that an iffy zone entry was indeed onside, and ripped another wrister past the Leafs’ starter for the 4-2 goal. He nearly had the hat trick on a breakaway in the third.
Shane Pinto: A-
Three pipes. For a guy who has just one goal in his past 11 games, that’s cruel. After he hit the third post with a minute left in regulation, Pinto couldn’t help but laugh on the bench.
Claude Giroux: B
Giroux’s hockey IQ makes him a threat to create offence every night, despite some slower foot speed. He wins puck battles with impeccable timing and still has one of the better active sticks in the league. His neutral-zone hit on Matthew Knies led to Batherson’s 4-2 marker. However, early in the first, Giroux was caught in the middle of the ice looking for someone to cover when Morgan Rielly got the puck in the slot and made it 1-0 on the power play.
Michael Amadio: B
Amadio hit a cross bar in the first period and later pulled off a nasty backhand toe drag for a scoring chance. He had a couple good steals and was strong on the forecheck.
Ridly Greig: B+
Greig was up to his old tricks in the third, crashing the net after a good shot on net, and making goaltender Anthony Stolarz and the five Maple Leafs skaters on the ice collectively lose their minds. Greig could’ve benefited from some more selfish plays on Saturday — he passed up some scoring chances while looking for the perfect pass — but it was a second straight strong game from No. 71 coming off the Olympic break.
Stephen Halliday: C
Halliday’s night started off poorly, lacking awareness as the puck carrier in the D zone and easily being knocked off of it behind the net. He managed two shots in 12:06, but didn’t play many minutes when the game was still being decided.
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark makes a save as Toronto Maple Leafs centre Bobby McMann looks on during the first period in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
Nick Cousins: B
Cousins was much more noticeable on Saturday, once stealing a puck in the neutral zone and sending it up to Pinto for a rush. Cousins fought former teammate Scott Laughton after Greig caused chaos.
Lars Eller: C+
Eller and Tyler Kleven lost a puck battle in the corner right before Rielly’s 1-0 goal. Eller handled the Leafs’ dangerous forwards well, once pressuring William Nylander right out of the Sens’ zone.
DefencemenJake Sanderson: A-
Sanderson had a really solid performance in a must-win game, but the most important moment of his night came when he broke away from a scrum with Simon Benoit to defend Nick Jensen, who was being mauled by a furious Max Domi.
Artem Zub: A-
Zub’s elite defensive stick deflected a shot from Domi early on that looked destined to tickle twine. He played Nylander particularly hard all night. And, offensively, Saturday was a perfect example of how Zub, who is not the most skilled with the puck, can be so effective in the opponents’ end. He knows his bounds, and instead of trying to do too much, he’ll often opt for a perfectly placed shot for a rebound or complete a sneaky exchange with a forward who is ramping up speed around the perimeter.
Thomas Chabot: A
Ahead of his 1-1 goal, Chabot started the breakout in his own end, enthusiastically joined the rush, got the puck back in a dangerous spot at the top of the slot, sniped it past Woll. Chabot stalked his prey while walking the blue line, and used deception to set up wingers skating down the sides of the slot. He also had the primary assist on Cozens’ 2-1 goal.
Jordan Spence: C
Between Brandon Carlo and Nylander, Spence didn’t know who to cover at the netfront ahead of the 4-2 goal, and he was weak on both of them as a result. Spence had a decent game offensively, surveying his options well and making some quality passes, but he botched a number of puck touches in the D zone, leading to multiple Toronto scoring chances.
Tyler Kleven: C-
Kleven’s attempted toe drag at the top of the slot ultimately led to a break the other way for Toronto, and after some sustained zone time, Nylander’s 3-2 goal. He finished minus-2 and had two giveaways.
Nick Jensen: B+
Jensen was a game-high plus-3. At times, his puck management was still suspect, but he avoided trouble in his own end, transported the puck to safety and I only counted one time he turned it over in the neutral zone. It was a good night.
GoalieLinus Ullmark: B
The 1-0 goal was a little stinky, being beat five-hole by Rielly. But in a game where he didn’t see much action for sustained periods, Ullmark stayed cool and finished with a .913 save percentage.
Now it’s time for your take; tell us in the comment section which Senators impressed you and who needs to improve their game.
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