Booing Shifts to Toronto, Senators Get Back on Track With 6-3 Win Over Maple Leafs

After two weeks of wild headlines and on-ice struggles, the Senators got a much-needed 6-3 win in Toronto Wednesday night.

Ottawa Senators fans have endured a lot over the past two weeks, and a 6-3 win in Toronto over their biggest rival Wednesday night was just what the doctor ordered.

The new line of Tim Stutzle (four points), Claude Giroux (three), and Mathieu Joseph (three) combined for 10 points on the evening in a game that was much closer than it appeared. With just over 8 minutes to play in regulation, the game was still tied 3-3 before the Sens erupted for three goals in just over three minutes.

It was a complete reversal of fortunes for the two provincial rivals. On Saturday, the Senators were booed by their home fans, leading some players to take issue with it publicly.

On Wednesday in the third period, as Ottawa took the game over, Leaf fans let their team hear it, too. Toronto is loaded up front but struggling with defensive structure, precisely the same problem that's plagued the Senators.

Giroux and Dominik Kubalik each scored twice for the Senators, while Stutzle and Jakob Chychrun added singles. While the second line combined for 10 points, the top line of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, and Drake Batherson was shut out.

Joonas Korpisalo had a couple of shaky moments early but robbed Auston Matthews with a highlight reel save late in the first period, keeping the game tied at one and giving the Sens a little boost heading to the intermission. 

It should be noted that Matthews' rush came against two defencemen – Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo – who have a combined 16 games of NHL experience.

Senator head coach DJ Smith was pleased with the performance, which included just two Ottawa penalties. Smith was clear with his group that he wanted them to stay out of the penalty box and not serve up opportunities for a highly-skilled Toronto power play.

It appeared early that Smith's pleas had been ignored, with William Nylander opening the scoring with a fierce snapshot, but it was the only goal the Leafs would get on the power play. The Senators took only one more penalty the entire game and went 1/3 with their own power play chances.

To suggest that Smith rode Chychrun hard would be a severe understatement. Chychrun played 31:06, eight minutes more than any other Senator defenceman.

The Senators are now third in the NHL for most goals per game (4.00), behind only Los Angeles and Vancouver. The 9-2-1 Canucks were idle Wednesday night and lying in wait for the Senators back in Ottawa. The two clubs meet on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.