Halliday scores winner, Senators top Maple Leafs

Ottawa Senators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in a game held on Saturday night. Stephen Halliday scored the winning goal in the third period, while Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the Senators. Thomas Chabot, making his first appearance as captain, contributed with a goal and an assist. Michael Amadio added another goal for Ottawa.

Claude Giroux provided two assists for the Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko scored for Toronto, who now have a record of 1-2-0. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots for Toronto. Chabot opened the scoring in the first period, 68 seconds in, after Giroux tipped Shane Pinto's initial shot. Amadio tied the game at 12:40 with a 2-on-1 break assisted by Tim Stutzle.

Halliday provided the winning margin at 9:46 in the third period, just as a penalty expired. The Maple Leafs split their first two games of the NHL season, losing to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 and winning 2-1 against the New York Islanders. Ottawa, on the other hand, was the last team to start their schedule. Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson did not return after appearing to aggravate a nagging injury during the opening period.

Chabot succeeded Brady Tkachuk as captain of the Senators after the forward requested a trade and was dealt to the Florida Panthers in June. For the Maple Leafs, Associate Coach Daniel Alfredsson, who previously played for and coached the Senators, took the bench against his former team for the first time. Halliday scored the winning goal by swatting a loose puck in Bobrovsky's crease just as a Marchenko penalty of high-sticking expired.

John Tavares, the Maple Leafs' center, wore a Maple Leafs jersey for the 600th time in the regular season, becoming the 25th player in franchise history to reach this milestone. The Maple Leafs are set to host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.