Senators beat Leafs in Battle of Ontario opener, await word on Jake Sanderson

Thomas Chabot of the Senators scores the opening goal of Saturday's game against Leafs netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. Photo by Kevin Sousa /NHLI via Getty Images

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SENATORS 3, LEAFS 2

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The Ottawa Senators drew first blood in the Battle of Ontario.

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The Senators couldn’t have scripted a better way to start the season than a gutsy 3-2 victory over the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs in enemy territory at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.

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Centre Stephen Halliday scored the third-period winner, but not all the news was good.

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The Senators finished the night without top defenceman Jake Sanderson, who left after the first period, and there was no immediate update on his status.

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Coach Travis Green told reporters in Toronto that Sanderson has a lower-body injury and they’ll know more after further examination on Sunday.

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Captain Thomas Chabot led the attack with a goal and an assist, while Claude Giroux had two assists. Michael Amadio also scored for the Senators, and goaltender Linus Ullmark was key, making 27 stops.

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“I thought the third period was our best,” Chabot said. “We played exactly the way that we wanted to play. I’m just glad we got it done.”

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After sitting idle for four days while the Leafs had already suited up for two games, the Senators used their speed and created opportunities against Toronto netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.

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Halliday completed the comeback from a 2-1 deficit by chipping a rebound past Bobrovsky at 9:48 of the third. That came moments after the Senators failed to score on a power play.

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The Senators held the Leafs to 1-for-4 with the man-advantage.

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Concern surrounding Sanderson

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Already without Artem Zub to start the season, the Senators played the final 47 minutes of this contest without Sanderson. He stayed on the bench in the first period, but didn’t take a shift in the final seven minutes.

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With netminder Linus Ullmark, left, out of position, Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson bats the puck out of harm’s way in the first period of Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs. Sanderson left the contest after the period and didn’t return to the bench. Photo by Andrew Lahodynskyj /NHLI via Getty Images

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He has been dealing with an unspecified ailment, and there were questions all week as to whether he would even play in this one.

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He left the final preseason game against Montreal on Sept. 26 midway through the second period. Head coach Travis Green noted it was a different ailment than what Sanderson had been dealing with a week earlier.

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The TV cameras showed a frustrated Sanderson on the bench, smashing his stick after being caught up along the boards with Toronto’s Nick Paul.

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That meant the Senators were forced to finish the game with only five defencemen, including rookie Carter Yakemchuk.

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The dawn of a new era

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The Senators have turned the page with Chabot wearing the captain’s ‘C’, and the overall goal is to make the playoffs for the third straight spring.

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Chabot couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in his role as captain. He became the first captain in franchise history to score in his first game wearing the ‘C’.

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He opened the scoring at 18:51 of the first period by redirecting a rebound off Bobrovsky and into the net on the stick side. It was the 12th straight season that the Senators had scored first in their opener.