Senators vs Maple Leafs is the Saturday night game, and the gap between these two is wider than the rivalry suggests. Ottawa finished 9th overall last season and qualified. Toronto finished 28th and did not.
Puck drop is 7:00pm ET at Scotiabank Arena. Here is the team news and the form behind it.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Fixture | Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Date | Saturday 3 October 2026 |
| Time | 7:00pm ET |
| Venue | Scotiabank Arena, Toronto |
| 2025-26 head to head | Ottawa won the series 3-1 |
| 2025-26 finish | Ottawa 9th, Toronto 28th |
Senators vs Maple Leafs odds
The Canadian books had not posted a price for this game when we checked on 28 September. We will add the board once it lands. Live prices across the league are on our NHL odds page.
Ottawa: a genuinely good team, minus its captain
The Senators took 99 points and a plus 32 goal difference, both better than any Canadian club except Montréal.
Tim Stützle led them on 83 points. Drake Batherson scored 33 goals and added 71 points. Dylan Cozens matched 59. Jake Sanderson put up 54 from defence at plus 16, and Claude Giroux, at 38, finished on 49 points at plus 20. Linus Ullmark went 28-12-8 with a 2.73 goals-against average.
The one big change is Brady Tkachuk. The captain scored 59 points in 60 games last season and was traded to Florida over the summer for four picks. Ottawa are a good team with a hole in the middle of their identity.
Toronto: new goaltender, same questions
The Maple Leafs finished 28th with a goal difference of minus 46 and responded by signing Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year contract and adding first overall pick Gavin McKenna.
The scoring was never the problem. William Nylander put up 79 points in 65 games, John Tavares scored 31 goals and Matthew Knies reached 66 points. The problem was that Knies finished at minus 30, Max Domi minus 29 and Tavares minus 28, and that Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz posted save percentages of .899 and .893.
Team news
| Player | Club | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Sanderson | Ottawa | Day to day | Listed for 3 October, the game date |
| Shane Pinto | Ottawa | Day to day | Listed for 3 October |
| Warren Foegele | Ottawa | Day to day | Listed for 3 October |
| Artem Zub | Ottawa | Out, knee | Around 10 October |
| Max Domi | Toronto | Out, back | 7 November |
| William Villeneuve | Toronto | Out, knee | 31 October |
Ottawa’s list is the one to watch. Sanderson, Pinto and Foegele are all day to day with a return date listed as 3 October, which is this game. Sanderson in particular matters: 54 points from the blue line at plus 16 is most of Ottawa’s transition game. Availability across the league is on our NHL injury report.
What happened last season
Ottawa won it 3-1, and won the last three in a row.
| Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 27 December 2025 | Toronto 7-5 Ottawa | Toronto |
| 28 February 2026 | Ottawa 5-2 Toronto | Toronto |
| 21 March 2026 | Ottawa 5-2 Toronto | Ottawa |
| 15 April 2026 | Ottawa 3-1 Toronto | Ottawa |
Twelve goals in the first meeting. Then three straight Ottawa wins, including two at Scotiabank Arena. The Senators own the recent record in this fixture, and they did it while Toronto still had a full season to fix things.
Players to watch
Tim Stützle. Eighty-three points, and now the focal point of Ottawa’s attack with Tkachuk gone. Every Senators vs Maple Leafs storyline runs through whether he can carry that.
Linus Ullmark. Twenty-eight wins and a 2.73 average. Ottawa’s goaltending was a strength last season. Toronto’s was the reason they missed.
Sergei Bobrovsky. Two starts into his Toronto career, if he plays the opener and Wednesday. A 38-year-old on a three-year deal is the whole Leafs plan.
Gavin McKenna. The first overall pick, on a line somewhere in Toronto’s top nine. Saturday night against a provincial rival is a fair early test.
Senators vs Maple Leafs prediction
Ottawa were 21 points better last season and won this series 3-1. Toronto’s case rests on a goaltender making his third start for them and a rookie winger.
The counterweight is Ottawa’s injury list. If Sanderson and Pinto both sit, that is their best defenceman and a 23-goal centre missing on the road.
Our lean: Ottawa if Sanderson plays, Toronto if he does not. This is a game to price after the morning skate rather than before it. Our weekly re-rank of all 32 is on the NHL power rankings page.
Puck drop is 7:00pm ET on Saturday 3 October 2026 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Ottawa won the series 3-1. Toronto took the first meeting 7-5 in December, then Ottawa won the next three, including two in Toronto.
No. The Senators captain was traded to the Florida Panthers over the summer for four draft picks. He scored 59 points in 60 games for Ottawa last season.
He is day to day and listed with a 3 October return date, which is this game. Shane Pinto and Warren Foegele are in the same position.
Ottawa finished 9th overall on 99 points and qualified for the playoffs. Toronto finished 28th on 78 points with a goal difference of minus 46.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Odds are approximate at the time of writing and change constantly. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.