Time for Maple Leafs’ big guns to start scoring in latest Battle of Ontario

We take a look at three areas of interest as the Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators hook up at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday

Published Oct 03, 2026  •  4 minute read

Jake McCabe, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, celebrates his first period goal against the Ottawa Senators during preseason game action at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 23, 2026. Photo by Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

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Jake McCabe knows he is a lucky guy.

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The Maple Leafs defenceman suffered a small cut on his ankle and nothing more when the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans caught him in the season opener on Tuesday night.

McCabe’s message, perhaps, for hockey players? Invest in protective socks.

“I felt it,” McCabe said Saturday morning at Scotiabank Arena. “I looked and didn’t see blood right away, and a couple of seconds later I did see blood and got off quickly. Luckily, it wasn’t too deep.

“It could have been worse, so I feel thankful.”

McCabe was among the Leafs leaders in ice time the following night in a win against the New York Islanders and will be counted on again Saturday with partner Chris Tanev against the Ottawa Senators.

In the initial Battle of Ontario of the 2026-27 National Hockey League regular season, Leafs associate coach Daniel Alfredsson will get his first look at the Sens from the other side.

Former Leafs forward and Sens coach Travis Green, meanwhile, will become the 81st coach in NHL history to mark 500 games behind the bench in the head position. Green, who also had stints coaching the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils, has a career record of 230-216-53 for a .461 winning percentage.

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Sergei Bobrovsky will make his second start in goal for the Leafs, countered by Linus Ullmark for Ottawa.

Sergei Bobrovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs steps onto the ice against the Montréal Canadiens. Getty Images

Three items of interest we’ll be keeping an eye on:

HOW ABOUT A GOAL OR TWO?

The Leafs’ best forward in the first two games was Easton Cowan.

That’s a good thing for the 21-year-old as he makes his foray into his sophomore season in the NHL.

Not so much for captain Auston Matthews, Jack Roslovic, Kirill Marchenko and John Tavares – a foursome that has supplied zero goals.

Tiny sample size, we get it. But more offensive finish and production, certainly from Matthews in coming off knee surgery, was a reasonable expectation when the regular season kicked off against Montreal on Tuesday.

The line of Matthews between Marchenko and Roslovic features three players who love to shoot the puck, and collectively they have 15 shots on goal (Marchenko seven, Matthews and Roslovic four each). At some point, one of them will find the back of the net.

Marchenko, all things considered given the crazy week he endured, hasn’t looked bad. He must know, though, that Matthew Knies scored twice in his Columbus Blue Jackets debut on Thursday.

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Not to put any heat on Gavin McKenna, but two shots on goal through two games, as the 2026 No. 1 pick has provided, isn’t good enough.

Easton Cowan #53 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his first period goal against the New York Islanders with his teammates at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 30, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

WHEN WILL POWER BE RESTORED?

The Leafs’ No. 1 power-play unit of Matthews, Marchenko, Tavares, William Nylander and Darren Raddysh on the point has not yet scored, as Toronto’s only power-play goal in seven chances was provided by Cowan in the win against the Islanders.

There hasn’t been much cohesion on the top unit. We haven’t really seen the Raddysh bomb from the blue line that was among the reasons why he was signed to an eight-year pact by the Leafs in free agency.

If you’re wondering how a shorter training camp can have a negative impact, look no further than the Leafs power play. There was not enough time – not that there was a lot of it anyway – spent on nailing down the subtleties that go with making a man advantage work.

And while we’ve seen signs from Marchenko that he will make an impact through his strength, quickness and smarts, perhaps the Leafs should have left Roslovic on the top unit before putting Marchenko there in the opener.

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Raddysh made the comment on Saturday morning that he’s fine if teams want to take his shot away on the power play, as it opens up others, mostly Matthews and Nylander. If so, the Leafs have to start looking like they understand that and use it to their advantage.

Darren Raddysh #43 of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles for the puck with Victor Eklund #38 of the New York Islanders in the third period at Scotiabank Arena on September 30, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Chris Tanouye /Getty Images

CAN LEAFS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IDLE SENS TEAM?

Saturday marks the first time the Sens can try to prove they don’t need their former captain, Brady Tkachuk, to win hockey games.

Ottawa has not yet played a game, making the last NHL team to debut in 2026-27.

We’ve seen that it takes some time for teams to come together, no matter the number of off-season changes that have been made, once the puck drops.

A strong start by the Leafs, putting the Sens on their heels, is important.

“I don’t read too much into (Ottawa’s prolonged rest), honestly,” McCabe said. “Everyone is pretty good players at the NHL level, they’re going to come out ready to go, it’s a Saturday night, it’s the first match of the year. We have to be ready and detailed, and at least we have experienced that (first couple of games).”

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Said Green: “It has been a long week, especially when you’re watching other teams play. Give our guys credit. They worked hard this week with certain drills, certain days that we’re trying to mimic game-like intensity, but there’s no secret. Nothing is like playing a game. Our guys are very antsy to get going.”

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THE PROJECTED MAPLE LEAFS LINEUP:

FORWARDS

LW-C-RW

Kirill Marchenko-Auston Matthews-Jack Roslovic

Gavin McKenna-John Tavares-William Nylander

Easton Cowan-Nick Paul-Colton Sissons

Brandon Duhaime-Teddy Blueger-Bo Groulx

DEFENCE

Morgan Rielly-Darren Raddysh

Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev

Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Troy Stecher

GOALIES

Sergei Bobrovsky

Anthony Stolarz

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