With the Maple Leafs dressing all their top players, they didn't have much trouble with the Senators on home ice.
Yakemchuk's Rough Night
Carter Yakemchuk led the Senators with 25:29 of ice time against a skilled Toronto lineup and had a difficult night overall. He stayed down before eventually skating off, with trainers checking on him on the bench.
Meriläinen Under Siege
It wasn't much better in net. Leevi Meriläinen, who didn't have an NHL-caliber defence in front of him, was under siege all night and allowed all six Toronto goals before being replaced by Jackson Parsons in the third period. He was hung out to dry for much of the game, but at one point still needed to come up with a big save on a Grade A scoring chance while getting little help from his skaters.
Toronto's Depth on Display
Toronto spread the offence around. John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic each finished with three points on the night, showing the gap between the two rosters when the Maple Leafs ice a full lineup of regulars. Tim Stützle had the only marker for Ottawa.
A Bright Spot
Not everything was bleak for the Senators. Forward Eskild Bakke Olsen has held his own through four preseason contests, a notable showing for a player who hadn't skated on NHL-sized ice in years before training camp.
What It Means Heading Into the Season
But the game adds to a rocky stretch for Ottawa's exhibition schedule. The Senators lost in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens earlier in the week, and the roster has also been dealing with off-ice noise after owner Michael Andlauer's comments about Brady Tkachuk's departure reopened old tension within the group, something alternate captain Thomas Chabot pushed back on this week. Read ottown's earlier report on that story and ottown's earlier report on the Montreal loss.
For now, the priority for Ottawa is health and getting reads on players like Yakemchuk before the games start to count.
Sources: Ottawa Citizen (via Yahoo News Canada), The Hockey News
