New captain, new hero: Senators edge Maple Leafs 3-2 to open the season
Thomas Chabot scored in his first game wearing the C and Stephen Halliday netted the third-period winner as Ottawa spoiled Toronto's night at Scotiabank Arena.
The Battle of Ontario picked up right where it always threatens to: tight, tense and decided late. The Ottawa Senators opened their season with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, with Stephen Halliday — who grew up near Toronto — burying the winner at 9:46 of the third period.
Chabot's statement night
Thomas Chabot, playing his first game as Ottawa's captain after Brady Tkachuk was traded to Florida, opened the scoring in the first period and added an assist. Per NHL.com, Toronto answered with two goals early in the second — a deflection from Auston Matthews 33 seconds in, then a power-play strike at 7:06 from Kirill Marchenko, his first as a Maple Leaf since arriving from Columbus. Michael Amadio's redirect at 12:40 squared it 2-2 heading into the third.
Halliday's moment
The winner came off a rebound of Fabian Zetterlund's shot from the left circle, converted by Halliday just as a Toronto penalty expired, according to TSN. Toronto's third-period discipline was the difference: two penalties blunted any push for an equalizer. Linus Ullmark finished with 27 saves for Ottawa; Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 for Toronto.
What it means
For Ottawa (1-0-0), it is the cleanest possible start to a new era — the post-Tkachuk Senators needed evidence that leadership and scoring could come from elsewhere, and got both in one night. For Toronto (1-2-0), there were real positives — Matthews looked sharp, Marchenko is already producing, and John Tavares reached 600 games as a Maple Leaf — but a home loss to the provincial rival, sealed while shorthanded momentum ebbed away, is the kind that lingers in that market. Ottawa visits Boston on Monday; Toronto hosts Nashville on Tuesday.