Leafs Gameday 3: October 3rd vs. Ottawa Senators
The Toronto Maple Leafs put themselves into the win column for the first time this season on Wednesday, but still feel they’ve got more to give. In their first Saturday Night Hockey (don’t say the old phrase if you don’t want to get smacked around with a cable box) game in 2026/27, they’ll take on a Senators team that they played their most encouraging preseason game against, and hope to have a similar result.
Fast Facts
| Puck Drop | October 3rd @ 7:00 p.m. Scotiabank Arena, Toronto |
| Broadcast | TV: Sportsnet (National) Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN Online: Sportsnet+ |
| Gameday Odds (Market Typical) | Maple Leafs -120, Senators +100 Maple Leafs -1.5 +205, Senators +1.5 -250 Goal Line 6.5 (Over +105, Under -125) |
About the Maple Leafs (1-1-0)
The Maple Leafs come into this game still looking a little disjointed from all their changes, but trending in the right direction nonetheless. After a tight opening night loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the Leafs held structured and compsed with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The third line were the main story on the scoresheet, as Colton Sissons scored Toronto’s first and Easton Cowan, playing separately on the second powerplay unit, bagged the insurance tally that became the eventual game-winning goal. Anthony Stolarz was sublime in his season debut, though all signs point to Toronto going back to Sergei Bobrovsky tonight.
About the Senators (0-0-0)
The Senators are the last team in the NHL to have not played a game yet this season, which hilariously puts them ahead of nine NHL teams in the standings by virtue of goal differential. They’re looking to prove themselves in their life without Brady Tkachuk, who requested a trade to the Florida Panthers this season. William Eklund, acquired in a follow-up deal, is hoping to replace his scoring punch, while his C has landed on the chest of longtime Sens defenceman Thomas Chabot. Ottawa probably aren’t too upset about being last out of the gate given their injury situation, which continues to play a factor tonight.
Projected Lineups
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Ottawa Senators |
|---|---|
| Jack Roslovic – Auston Matthews – Kirill Marchenko Gavin McKenna – John Tavares – William Nylander Easton Cowan – Nick Paul – Colton Sissons Brandon Duhaime – Teddy Blueger – Bo Glroulx Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev Morgan Rielly – Darren Raddysh Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Troy Stetcher | Warren Foegele – Tim Stutzle – Drake Batherson William Eklund – Dylan Cozens – Fabian Zetterlund Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux Nick Cousins – Stephen Halliday – Hayden Hodgson Jake Sanderson – Nikolas Matinpalo Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence Tyler Kleven – Carter Yakemchuk |
| Starting Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky (0-1-0, 3.06 GAA, 0.875 SV%) Backing Up: Anthony Stolarz | Starting Goalie: Linus Ullmark (2025/26: 28-1-28, 2.73 GAA, 0.891 SV%) Backing Up: Samuel Ersson |
The Maple Leafs aren’t expected to change much, if anything this game. There’s some wonder about that second line given their results on Wednesday, but what change can you make to improve it when you don’t want to break up what the first and third are doing? We’ll see if the weekend forces any issues.
Ottawa’s lines are about what you’d expect given their injured list right now, and could get even thinner if one key name remains questionable to play tonight (scroll down for more there).
Last Matchup
The Leafs’ last game(s) against the Senators were a split-squad matchup this preseason, just a week and a half ago. In Toronto’s “A” game, we had lots of reason to be excited for players like Auston Matthews and Gavin McKenna, who dazzled in a 6-1 victory. You can read more about those games in my previous recap.
Injuries Of Note
Toronto remains the same as Wednesday. On Ottawa’s end, Artem Zub (knee), Kurtis MacDermid (upper body), and Andre Burakovsky (upper body) are all expected to miss the game. Jake Sanderson (undisclosed) is questionable to play – his absence would be a big help to Toronto as their number one defenceman. Warren Foegele (undisclosed), who didn’t play in the preseason, is reported to be returning just in time for tonight, but will presumably be rusty.
Streaks Of Note
I’d be hard pressed to call anyone on the Leafs streaky just yet. Easton Cowan is the closest, with points in both Tuesday and Wednesday’s games and strong performances in each. Maybe you can look to Auston Matthews being pointless through two, but his line’s control of play would have me wanting to avoid harping too hard on him at the two-game mark.
Ottawa’s top preseason scorers were Dylan Cozens (2G 2A in 3GP) and Claude Giroux (1G 3A in 2GP). William Eklund led skaters who made the team in shots on goal with six.
Early Thoughts
This game can go a lot of different ways. It’s possible Toronto snowballs some momentum from early in the week and continues to improve their chemistry. At the same time, the Senators will be looking for revenge for the preseason, and there’s going to be a lot of pent up energy on that bench having watched the rest of the league make their debuts and follow-ups (heck, the Rangers have already played three games!).
As alluded to above, I think tonight will set the table for the first tweaks to the top nine. The outcome of the Islanders game makes it tough to break two of those three lines up, but I have a lot of skepticism for keeping the second together long-term.
We’ll see who shows up and forces either adjustments or stability tonight.
