Goals from Matthews, Marchenko not enough as Maple Leafs lose to Sens

Third-period penalties cost the Leafs, losers by a 3-2 score

Published Oct 03, 2026  •  Last updated 23 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators scores against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct. 3, 2026. Photo by Kevin Sousa /Getty Images

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A couple of Maple Leafs firsts added up to nothing on Saturday night.

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Captain Auston Matthews and recently acquired winger Kirill Marchenko each scored his first goal of 2026-27 for Toronto in the latest Battle of Ontario, but it was Ottawa Senators forward Stephen Halliday who emerged as the hero at Scotiabank Arena.

Third-period penalties cost the Leafs, losers by a 3-2 score in their third game of 2026-27 to drop to 1-2-0.

Halliday, standing at the side of the net, scored the go-ahead goal at 9:46 of the third period, just as a Marchenko minor expired.

Six seconds after Halliday poked the puck past netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, the Leafs didn’t give themselves a chance to recover as Jack Roslovic was sent off for tripping.

During a power play that came at 14:20 of the third, the Leafs failed to register a shot on Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark.

The Sens outshot the Leafs 16-5 in the final period.

Matthews’ goal came off a terrific tip of a Morgan Rielly shot at 33 seconds of the second period to tie the game 1-1.

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Matthews reached in front of Senators defenceman Jordan Spence to re-direct the waist-high shot past Ullmark.

At 7:06, Toronto had its first lead when Marchenko scored on the power play, the first goal with a man advantage for the No. 1 unit.

A Darren Raddysh pass from the point — not a bomb, interestingly — made it happen, as the defenceman spotted an open Marchenko. The latter then moved to his backhand to score after taking the pass.

Ottawa sent the teams to the second intermission tied 2-2 thanks to a Michael Amadio goal at 12:40. The Leafs didn’t get right in coverage after a Raddysh solo rush, and Amadio tapped a pass from Tim Stutzle past a stretched Bobrovsky.

The Sens employed an effective forecheck for the early stages of the first period, though the Leafs were able to weather it.

Still, it was Ottawa that opened the scoring when captain Thomas Chabot, trailing on the play, popped a rebound past Bobrovsky at 18:51.

John Tavares skated in his 600th game with the Leafs, becoming the 26th player in franchise history to reach the mark with the club.

William Nylander recorded his 400th career assist on Matthews’ goal, becoming the ninth player in Leafs history to hit the milestone with the team.

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