In Toronto, the Maple Leafs blew a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza on Wednesday and lost to the visiting Ottawa Senators, 4-2.
Drake Batherson hit for a double for the Senators.
“It was a good game,” Batherson said. “Obviously, we had a bit of a slow start there, but (Joonas) Korpisalo played great, and we were able to capitalize on a few chances. We just got behind them a little more. Our forecheck was good which led to a few turnovers, and then obviously getting a short-handed goal was huge for momentum.”
Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves in the win.
“A little bit of a slow start for me and the whole team, but we just picked it up,” Korpisalo said. “The second period was our best and the third we just played smart hockey.”
Ottawa moved to 13-17-0.
“I think we had a slow start,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “I don’t think we were ready to play at the pace the Leafs came out with, and they got a 2-0 lead, but what I like is our resiliency, how we battled back, how we stuck with it.”
Batherson scored his first of the night at 14:25 of the middle frame to tie the game, 2-2, headed to the third period.
He hit for double at 3:44 of the third period for a 3-2 lead to Ottawa.
The Maple Leafs dropped to 17-9-6.
“We couldn’t score the third goal, or didn’t score the third goal, so we let them hang around,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought they were better than us in the second period for sure, and I think the period looks a lot worse because our power play gives them a freebie and gives them life and energy, and some of our details just slipped really on each of the goals against.”
Matthew Knies and Tyler Bertuzzi were the Toronto strikers, they scored 23 seconds apart in the first period. .
Matthews scored at 5:41 of the first for a 1-0 lead to the Maple Leafs.
“How we adjusted I thought was a big difference in the second period,” Martin said. “We started to get some pucks behind their defense, putting some pressure, creating some turnovers, creating some scoring chances and able to tie the game and continue on.”
Bertuzzi pushed the lead to 2-0, 23 seconds later.
“I thought Ottawa got better and harder as the game went on, and we didn’t respond to that,” Keefe said.
That was all the offense Toronto could muster all night. The Maple Leafs went scoreless in three chances on the power play.
“No question, our power play didn’t do our job tonight and (it) gave them life,” Toronto’s John Tavares said. “They capitalized on their opportunities after that. They obviously picked up their pace. We pushed back and had opportunities ourselves, and we just didn’t cash in. Once we let them back in, the game was up for grabs, and they capitalized when they had their chance and we didn’t seem to find ours. Tough one to swallow when we had a good start like we did.”
Brady Tkachuk hit an empty net with 2:27 left on the game clock for a final count of 4-2.
Martin Jones made 27 saves in the loss.
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