Senators 2, Maple Leafs 4: Tverberg's late snap shot settles the Ottawa half
Ryan Tverberg broke a 2-2 tie from the left dot late in the third as Toronto's depth squad completed a split-squad sweep at Canadian Tire Centre.
While the headliners were trading goals in Toronto, the other half of Wednesday's Leafs–Senators split-squad doubleheader turned into the more competitive game — and the more useful one for anyone watching roster battles.
How it unfolded
Toronto's depth group did the scoring in Ottawa. Henrik Rybinski struck on the power play and Steven Lorentz added another, while the Senators answered through Dylan Cozens and young defenseman Hoyt Stanley to make it 2-2, according to NHL.com's preseason roundup.
The game stayed level until late in the third, when Ryan Tverberg beat Linus Ullmark with a snap shot from the left dot. Teddy Blueger sealed the 4-2 win into an empty net. Bleacher Report's game page likewise credited Tverberg with the winner.
In goal, Anthony Stolarz made 19 saves for Toronto; Ullmark stopped 20 for Ottawa.
Why it matters
Put the two games together and Wednesday was a clean sweep for Toronto — 6-1 with the stars at Scotiabank Arena, 4-2 with the kids and role players in Ottawa. For a Leafs organization that overhauled its roster this summer, the second result arguably says as much as the first: games like this are where players such as Tverberg and Rybinski make their case for opening-night jobs or first-recall status, and both put their names on the scoresheet against an Ottawa lineup that iced regulars like Ullmark and Cozens.
The Senators' consolation prize was on the blue line, where Stanley — one of the organization's recent draft picks — scored against NHL-calibre goaltending. Preseason losses are free; a young defenseman finding the net is the kind of detail that outlasts the score.