The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators twice in a Wednesday split-squad doubleheader, while the Dallas Stars blanked the Minnesota Wild, in a preseason slate covered in the NHL’s Sept. 23 roundup posted to NHL.com.
At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Maple Leafs routed the Senators 6-1 behind two-point nights from both John Tavares and Auston Matthews, who each finished with a goal and two assists. Jake McCabe, Jack Roslovic, Zack MacEwen and Morgan Rielly also scored for Toronto. Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 saves in goal for the Maple Leafs. Tim Stutzle had Ottawa’s lone goal, with Leevi Merilainen and Jackson Parsons splitting time in the Senators’ net.
In the simultaneous split-squad game at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Toronto’s other roster group won 4-2. Ryan Tverberg broke a late third-period tie to seal the win, with Henrik Rybinski, Steven Lorentz and Teddy Blueger also finding the net for the Maple Leafs. Anthony Stolarz stopped 19 shots for Toronto. Dylan Cozens and Hoyt Stanley scored for the Senators, with Linus Ullmark making 20 saves in net.
In Dallas, the Stars shut out the Wild 2-0 at American Airlines Center. Matthew Seminoff and Esa Lindell scored for Dallas, with defenceman Kyle Capobianco picking up two assists. Goaltender Remi Poirier turned aside 24 shots for the shutout. Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt stopped 22 of 24 shots he faced in the loss.
The results come as NHL clubs wind down their preseason schedules, with most teams playing their final exhibition games this weekend ahead of the league-wide regular-season opener on Sept. 29. The Edmonton Oilers, who beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday, close out their own preseason slate with games Thursday at Vancouver and Saturday at home against Calgary before hosting the Canucks that night to open the regular season.
