Senators Suffer Two Preseason Losses to Maple Leafs

Ottawa's Senators had a long Wednesday night, sending split squads to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in two separate preseason games on September 23, 2026, one at home at Canadian Tire Centre and one on the road at Scotiabank Arena. Both ended in losses.

Close call at Canadian Tire Centre

In Ottawa, the Maple Leafs edged the Senators 4-2 in front of an announced crowd of 11,765 at Canadian Tire Centre. The game stayed tight into the third period before Ryan Tveberg broke a tie with a snap shot from the left dot at 15:43, giving Toronto the eventual winner. Dylan Cozens and Hoyt Stanley scored for Ottawa in the loss. In goal, Senators netminder Linus Ullmark made 20 saves in his debut in an Ottawa uniform, while Toronto's Anthony Stolarz stopped 19.

Blowout in Toronto

The night was rougher for Ottawa's other squad in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs routed the Senators 6-1 at Scotiabank Arena. Tim Stutzle opened the scoring for Ottawa, assisted by Andre Burakovsky, but Toronto answered repeatedly. John Tavares and Auston Matthews each finished with a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs in the win.

What Cozens said

Speaking after the split-squad results, Dylan Cozens said the team's focus right now is on the fundamentals rather than the scoreboard. "We're just trying to get better with the details and focus on getting our system right," he said, pointing to Monday's overtime preseason loss to the Montreal Canadiens along with Wednesday's two defeats to Toronto as part of the process heading into the regular season.

Zub ruled out for opener

Adding to Ottawa's preseason challenges, defenceman Artem Zub has been ruled out for the season opener because of a knee injury he suffered during the playoffs. His absence leaves a gap on the Senators' blue line as the team finalizes its roster before puck drop on the regular season.

What led here

Wednesday's results cap a difficult run of preseason hockey for Ottawa. The Senators also fell 6-1 to Toronto in a separate preseason meeting the same night at Scotiabank Arena, with Tim Stutzle again the lone Ottawa goal scorer and defenceman Carter Yakemchuk taking a hard late hit in that game, according to ottown's earlier report. That followed an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, detailed in ottown's earlier report, and comments from owner Michael Andlauer about former captain Brady Tkachuk that reopened old tensions within the room, covered in ottown's earlier report.

With the regular season approaching, the Senators still have preseason games left to sort out their lineup, goaltending rotation and system play before games start to count. Ullmark's debut in net and the continued absence of Zub will both be storylines to watch as Ottawa finalizes its roster.

Sources: Ottawa Citizen (via Yahoo News Canada syndication), NHL.com