Senators beat Maple Leafs in 1st shootout of National Hockey League season

They carried the play and got a lot of attacking zone time while on the ice.

After the Leafs dominated the play in a scoreless first period, Turris opened the scoring 46 seconds into the second.

Mike Hoffman scored the victor in that shootout as the Senators came back from blowing a three-goal lead to defeat the Leafs 5-4 Saturday night at Air Canada Centre.

Toronto tied it on a power-play goal at 3:18 of the third on Holland’s backhand off a feed from the right point by right winger Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau.

“If we stick with it, good things are bound to happen”, Phaneuf said.

“The Leafs of a year ago developed a nasty reputation for doing just the opposite”.

The Senators took a deep breath after this one. The club, he suggested, seemed to struggle with keeping a steady mindset.

The Maple Leafs went on the power play during overtime when Senators center Mika Zibanejad took a tripping penalty but could not end the game.

That was typically the response last season when a battered Toronto squad melted down in epically poor fashion. With no goals, we returned to the familiar shootout to settle the score, and though the Maple Leafs scored the first goal, they could not score any more.

Toronto responded again though.

Oddly, it took a few time for Winnik’s goal to be confirmed. What ensued was an existential crisis in which 30 seconds of hockey was played that technically did not exist until the ACC sounded a horn to stop play.

“That’s good resiliency on our part”, Boyes said. I also liked to see a third consecutive strong game from Jake Gardiner and I thought he and Phaneuf looked great partnered together.

They still lost – albeit in a shootout, the NHL’s version of a coin flip.

The Leafs played all but 5 minutes of good hockey; alas, it wasn’t enough for two points. James Reimer has only been slightly better, playing well in relief of Bernier, but allowing four goals on 33 shots and two goals in the shootout on Saturday.

“I just need a couple lucky ones”, Pulkkinen said, “and then it’s way easier”. I’m like did I just get robbed?

Do you have to be over-the-top outrageous like a PFTCommenter or FauxJohnMadden, or can you have a more subtle with your trolls in as hopeful a way as a troll can be? There wasn’t panic. There wasn’t a sense that when the Best Coach in the National Hockey League leaves, the franchise spirals down the toilet. He burst in alone on Anderson only to see the Senators goaltender surprise him in his response. “I thought ours was real solid after the first shot”.

“Winnik, who drew the first shift of overtime alongside Nick Spaling, called the new style “nerve-wracking”.

-While this team is leaps and bounds better in puck possession and generating scoring chances, and plays hard every night, there is no denying the talent deficiency.

“Kenny, Jimmy Nill, they were good, they were fun, they were pros and they were kind”.

The Leafs captain registered two assists in a season-high of more than 24 minutes.

Lupul began the season playing with Matthias and Tyler Bozak. Phaneuf had typically drawn such assignments since joining the Leafs.

Instead, there was confidence that Holland might be able to keep this thing going in the right direction, and that Jeff Blashill was a younger model and an important change in voice in the locker room. Everybody contributed. (Price) is not a bad goaltender. “The guys maybe needed a little bit of a change”.

It’s very apparent that Babcock has become a quick fan of the 30-year-old Hunwick.

They were scheduled to fly home immediately after Saturday’s game, preparing for Sunday’s home opener against the Montreal Canadiens. I would move him down the lineup because he just isn’t talented offensively, but he at least had a decent game.

A Michigan native, Hunwick watched Babcock’s Red Wings closely over the years.