Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
TV/Streaming: Sportsnet (SN) / Hockey Night in Canada (CBC in Canada); ESPN+ (out-of-market U.S.)
This is the Senators’ 2026-27 regular-season opener (they are the last team to begin play) and a Battle of Ontario rivalry game. Toronto is 1-1-0 after opening with a 3-2 loss to Montreal on Sept. 29 and a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Sept. 30. Ottawa enters at 0-0-0 after a mixed preseason.
Current Rosters & Projected Lineups
Toronto Maple Leafs (projected):
Forwards: Kirill Marchenko – Auston Matthews – Jack Roslovic; Gavin McKenna – John Tavares – William Nylander; Easton Cowan – Nick Paul – Colton Sissons; Brandon Duhaime – Teddy Blueger – Bo Groulx (Zack MacEwen extra).
Defense: Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev; Morgan Rielly – Darren Raddysh; Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Troy Stecher.
Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky (projected starter) / Anthony Stolarz.
Ottawa Senators (projected, subject to late changes):
Forwards (accounting for absences): Likely combinations include William Eklund/Warren Foegele – Tim Stützle – Drake Batherson; Fabian Zetterlund – Dylan Cozens – Claude Giroux or similar; Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – others; bottom-six with Nick Cousins, Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson. Ridly Greig is suspended for the first two games.
Defense: Jake Sanderson (questionable/day-to-day, returned to practice and trending toward playing) – Nikolas Matinpalo; Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence; Tyler Kleven – Carter Yakemchuk (or Cam Crotty).
Goaltenders: Linus Ullmark (projected starter) / Samuel Ersson.
Key 2025-26 performers still central: Ottawa’s Stützle (83 points), Batherson, Cozens, Giroux, Sanderson, Ullmark; Toronto’s Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, plus newcomers Marchenko, McKenna, Bobrovsky, Raddysh, and others.
Injury Reports
Ottawa:
Andre Burakovsky (LW, upper body) — OUT (expected at least Oct. 5).
Artem Zub (D, knee) — OUT (IR-NR, expected at least Oct. 10).
Kurtis MacDermid (LW, upper body) — OUT (IR-NR, expected late October).
Warren Foegele — reported set to play / available in some updates.
Jake Sanderson (D, undisclosed) — Day-to-day / questionable; returned to practice and expected to play or close to ready.
Ridly Greig (C) — Suspended (first two games).
Other notes: Blake Montgomery and others on IR-NR lists in some reports.
Toronto:
Max Domi (C, back) — OUT (LTIR, expected mid-to-late November).
Dakota Joshua (C, abdomen) — OUT (LTIR, expected at least late October).
Cade Webber (D, elbow) and William Villeneuve (D, knee) — OUT (IR-NR, expected late October).
Elvis Merzlikins (G, shoulder) — OUT long-term.
Core roster otherwise largely intact for this game.
Key Player vs. Player Matchups
Auston Matthews / top Toronto line vs. Ottawa’s top defensive pair (Sanderson if available + Matinpalo or Chabot-Spence) and Ullmark. Matthews and the new Marchenko-Roslovic combination will test Ottawa’s structure early.
Tim Stützle / Drake Batherson vs. Toronto’s defensive pairs (especially McCabe-Tanev or Rielly-Raddysh) and Bobrovsky. Stützle’s speed and playmaking against Toronto’s improved structure under coach Jim Hiller.
William Nylander / John Tavares / Gavin McKenna line vs. Ottawa’s middle-six and penalty kill. Secondary scoring battle.
Goaltending duel: Linus Ullmark vs. Sergei Bobrovsky. Both experienced starters; Ullmark enters as Ottawa’s clear No. 1 after a solid prior season, while Bobrovsky is a high-profile addition for Toronto.
Young talent angle: Ottawa’s Carter Yakemchuk facing Toronto’s speed/skill, and McKenna’s integration for the Leafs.
Special teams will matter: Ottawa ranked higher in power-play percentage last season (~24%); Toronto was stronger on the penalty kill in some metrics. Faceoff battles (both teams strong in FO% historically) and physical play typical of the rivalry are expected.
Recent Team Forms
Toronto (1-1-0): Lost season opener 3-2 to Montreal, then won 2-1 over the Islanders. Preseason included decisive wins over Ottawa (6-1 and 4-2 in split-squad). They have home ice and two games of regular-season experience.
Ottawa (0-0-0): Preseason mixed (losses to Montreal and Toronto, one win). They have had extra practice time as the last team to open and are integrating new combinations and absences (Zub, Burakovsky, Greig suspension). Last season they finished stronger (44-27-11) than Toronto (32-36-14).
Series History (Battle of Ontario)
All-time regular-season + playoffs: Closely contested overall (Toronto holds a slight edge in some tallies around 89-83 or similar depending on inclusion of ties/OT; Ottawa has performed well in regular season historically). Recent regular-season meetings (2025-26 examples): Ottawa won several late-season games (e.g., 3-1, 5-2, 5-2). Playoff history heavily favors Toronto (5-0 in series, including 2025 first-round win 4-2 and the early-2000s series). Current streak notes and last 10 regular-season games have been competitive/split. This is the first meeting of 2026-27 (season series tied 0-0).
Betting Trends
Unders have hit in some recent Leafs short-rest or early-season spots and Senators samples. Home teams and favorites have mixed results in early-season rivalry games. Last season’s home/road splits and goal differentials favored Ottawa overall, but Toronto has the early experience and home crowd. Public often backs the Leafs in Battle of Ontario spots.
Game Odds
Ottawa Senators 6
Toronto Maple Leafs – 110
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Friday, October 2, 2026
