Senators defeat Maple Leafs 3-2 in season opener as Halliday scores winner
Stephen Halliday broke a tie late in the third period while Linus Ullmark stopped 27 shots as Ottawa earned a 3-2 victory in Toronto.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Ottawa defeated Toronto 3-2 on Saturday night in the NHL season opener, with Stephen Halliday scoring the decisive goal and goaltender Linus Ullbrand making 27 saves, according to reports from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press.
What happened
The game in Toronto began with Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot opening the scoring 68 seconds before the end of the first period, converting a rebound after a rush. Toronto responded 33 seconds into the second period when Auston Matthews redirected a point‑shot from Morgan Rielly to tie the game. The third period remained deadlocked until 9:46, when Halliday found the net to give Ottawa a 2-1 lead. Ottawa added a second goal later in the period, while Toronto pulled within one after Kirill Marchenko scored, leaving the final score at 3-2.
What the reports add
- Chabot recorded both a goal and an assist in his first game as captain, taking over the role after Brady Tkachuk was traded to Florida in June.
- Michael Amadio supplied the remaining Ottawa offense, scoring the tying goal at 12:40 of the second period.
- Claude Giroux contributed two assists for the Senators.
- Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko each scored for Toronto; Marchenko’s goal came on a power play after a pass from Darren Raddysh, and he had been acquired a day before the season in a blockbuster trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots for Toronto, while Linus Ullbrand faced 27 shots for Ottawa.
- Ottawa was the last team to begin its schedule, while the Maple Leafs entered the night 1‑2 after a 3‑2 loss to Montreal and a 2‑1 win over the New York Islanders.
- Associate coach Daniel Alfredsson, a former Ottawa player, was behind the Leafs’ bench against his former club for the first time.
- Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson did not return after aggravating a nagging injury in the opening period.
- John Tavares dressed in his 600th regular‑season game for Toronto, becoming the 25th player in franchise history to reach the milestone.
What was said
No direct quotations were included in the source articles.
How it came about
Thomas Chabot captained the Senators for the first time after the franchise moved the captaincy from Brady Tkachuk following his trade to the Florida Panthers. Toronto’s acquisition of winger Kirill Marchenko—finalized a day before the season opener—was highlighted in earlier coverage of the trade, and his power‑play goal underscored the immediate impact of that move.
Key facts
- Ottawa Senators beat Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in the season opener. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- Stephen Halliday scored the winning goal at 9:46 of the third period. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for Ottawa. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- Thomas Chabot opened scoring 68 seconds before the end of the first period. (winnipegfreepress.com)
- Kirill Marchenko scored for Toronto after being acquired in a trade earlier in the month. (winnipegfreepress.com)
