It’s a fair bet this isn’t how either coach drew it up.
Fresh off the three-day holiday break, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators combined for a white-knuckle, back-and-forth barnburner under the Scotiabank Arena lights on Saturday night — a 7-5 Maple Leafs win that saw the two clubs turn in 12 goals for the first time in Battle of Ontario history.
For the home side, it’s the final result that matters most, Toronto claiming a pivotal two points as they look to pull themselves out of the Eastern Conference basement. But amid the rollercoaster effort against their provincial rivals, the blue-and-white found another crucial bit of progress, too — the revival of offensive stalwarts Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
Riding a pair of cold streaks into Saturday’s affair, Nos. 34 and 23 each found their game in this one, putting on an elite offensive performance to help Toronto outlast the Sens.
It started early for the captain, Matthews filtering a backhand pass to a streaking William Nylander 40 seconds into the night for Toronto’s first goal. A period later, he set up another, planting himself in front of Linus Ullmark and nearly sweeping the puck past the line before Bobby McMann swooped in to tuck it home. Five minutes later, Matthews potted one of his own, posting up at the netfront again and shovelling home a rebound off a Max Domi shot from distance.
It was the first three-point night of the campaign for Matthews and the first points he’s put up in five games — the four-game cold streak the captain carried into the evening ranked as the longest he’s endured in seven years. His nine shots on net ranked as a season-high as well, tying his highest total from all of last season, too.
“That line dominated in the second period, I thought,” head coach Craig Berube told the gathered media in Toronto post-game. “He was moving really well. … I just thought that they really had good chemistry and worked well together. Jumping into holes and making plays.
“He was around the net tonight. Scoring goals.”
It wasn’t just the points that had No. 34 looking more like himself, though — it was the moments of elite skill he flashed over the course of the night. The clearest example came midway through the second period when Matthews came up with an all-world sequence in the slot, cutting to the net, collecting the puck from Domi, sliding it through his legs to bypass defender Thomas Chabot, waiting another beat, and throwing a dangerous backhand chance on net.
The former Hart Trophy winner has come up with few moments this season that have seen him move with the type of swagger and confidence he used to show regularly, back when he was at his best. Saturday night, there were glimpses.
“Auston was on a mission tonight,” linemate Max Domi said of No. 34 after the dust settled on the tilt. “And Bob was competing hard. Some big goals for sure — but we had everyone going.”
It was much the same for Knies, who entered the night on a nine-game goalless streak. Suiting up with Nicolas Roy and Nick Robertson — with Matthews flanked by Domi and McMann — the 23-year-old came up clutch for the home side, turning in a two-goal, three-point night of his own.
The winger’s fingerprints were all over Toronto’s offensive effort, Knies striking early on a one-timer from the slot, then setting up a second-period Robertson goal with an exceptional between-the-legs dish, and finally tallying again late in the third with a calm, collected finish at the netfront.
“I just tried to play my game,” he told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas post-game. “Stick to it, keep it simple. Keep going, and get to the net — I think that’s where I score a lot of my goals. So, fortunate enough that it fell for me today. Just got to keep that going.”
Maple Leafs’ unforced defensive errors remain an issue
While Toronto’s offence did its job in this one, the club’s messy, disconnected play on the other end of the sheet allowed the Sens to stay in the game until the dying minutes of the tilt.
And for the most part, the home side’s issues were self-inflicted — haphazard, unforced giveaways that gifted the opposition quality chances, as has been the case plenty of times this season.
There was Matias Maccelli in the first period, dropping the puck to no one on the man-advantage, nearly gifting Tim Stutzle a partial breakaway. Moments later, there was Morgan Rielly passing it into Matthews’ skates, the captain standing a few feet in front of the Maple Leafs’ net as Ottawa’s forecheckers hovered nearby, again flirting with danger.
A period later, it was Robertson alone behind Toronto’s net, watching the puck roll off his stick right to Xavier Bourgault, who got a chance on Joseph Woll. Later that period, it was Jake McCabe cutting into the same area, bumping the puck back to no one rather than carrying it behind the net to safety, allowing Dylan Cozens to pounce.
Go back through the game film and you’ll find plenty more — no-look passes from the corner into the middle of the defensive zone, spinning passes in the neutral zone immediately picked off and turned towards Toronto’s end, battles lost along the boards, allowing Ottawa to maintain position and keep firing on Woll.
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If not for the offensive fireworks the Maple Leafs mustered in this one, their uneven defence might’ve sunk them once again.
“We gave up three odd-man rushes early on in (the third) period,” Berube assessed post-game. “It’s just, you know — you know that the other team is down, they’re going to take chances, they’re going to go for it. We just didn’t manage it well. We’ve got to be better. And I thought a couple of the goals, we just lost battles in our own zone.”
Power play strikes twice in Sullivan’s first game behind bench
There might not be a single aspect of Toronto’s 2025-26 campaign that’s been as heavily scrutinized — and as undeniably disappointing — as the club’s power play.
Ranking dead last in the league heading into the holiday break, the group’s stumbles prompted the Maple Leafs to part ways with assistant coach Marc Savard on Monday and bring in Steve Sullivan in his place. Saturday night, in Sullivan’s first game behind the bench, the blue-and-white’s power play found its legs, striking twice on two opportunities in the first period — with each unit tallying a goal — and earning a few quality looks on a third opportunity in the final frame.
The top unit’s first tally came off a broken offensive-zone play that saw Nylander streak through the slot and beat Ullmark with some quick hands in tight. The second unit’s goal saw Domi pick up the puck in the corner and find Knies for a one-timer from the bumper position.
It’s early days, and Sullivan’s impact has likely not fully taken hold yet, but there was certainly promise for the group, with the puck seeming to snap around quicker in the o-zone, and Toronto’s most talented finishers finding themselves in position to do just that.
“Overall, I think we were just executing a little bit better,” Knies said of the group’s success post-game. “I was obviously in a different spot during my goal, and I think that goal by Willy, it was just an entry play that we executed and found a way to score. So, little things like that — execution, structure, being in the right spots — is what helped us today.”
“We were playing a little bit more free,” Domi added. “Sometimes when the power play doesn’t go right, it’s really tough to not get frustrated. But I think we just said, ‘Screw it, let’s just simplify here — here’s a few plays, here’s a few looks, just keep firing them over and over again.’ Guys got some looks this morning, and I think that’s what it comes down to — we simplified, and we executed.”
Still, progress aside, there are no doubt still holes in need of mending, such as the Maple Leafs coming up with enough botched man-advantage zone entries to warrant some tinkering ahead of their next opportunity.
Nylander leaves game with lower-body injury
Complicating any chance of fixing those zone-entry issues in the near future, the Maple Leafs lost smooth-skating William Nylander to injury midway through Saturday’s game. The 29-year-old was forced down the tunnel midway through the second period with a lower-body issue and did not return, though it’s unclear when exactly the injury occurred.
Should No. 88 miss any significant time, it would be a hefty blow for a Maple Leafs squad that’s in dire need of wins if it hopes to claw its way back into playoff contention. Nylander remains the club’s leading scorer with 41 points through 33 games this season, ranks third on the team with 14 goals, and has managed three goals and five points through his past two games alone.
Berube announced post-game that Nylander will join the Maple Leafs on their upcoming road trip — the club plays the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday — but offered no further details.
“He means a lot,” Matthews said of No. 88 post-game. “I don’t know what the extent is, or what happened, but obviously he’s a big part of this team and drives a lot of play for us. So, obviously hoping for the best with that situation.”
