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The Toronto Maple Leafs Lose to the Senators in Exhibition Game

By Kuljit Parmar

May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers in the second period in game five of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers in the second period in game five of the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their season against the Ottawa Senators yesterday, losing 3-2.

Even though the Ottawa Senators came out with the win, the Toronto Maple Leafs put up a good effort against, but just couldn’t pull out the win.

Frankly, the Senators lineup was much better, so it was impressive the game was even as close as it was for the Leafs.

Since camp is all about evaluations and the actual results don’t really matter, here is an update on the three best players who the Leafs used in last night’s game.

The notable names in yesterday’s game were William Nylander and Max Domi. One is switching positions and the other is brand new to the team, so it was interesting to watch and see how they did. (stats naturalstattrick.com).

The Toronto Maple Leafs Lose to the Senators in Exhibition Game

William Nylander

Nylander had a modest game, even the Leafs were absolutely crushed in the first, they rebounded nicely in the second and Nylander was a big part of that.  Playing his first game since being moved to centre, Nylander had his moments but finished with no points.

He did seem to have some good chemistry with Domi, and they each almost set the other one up for a nice goal late, but it wasn’t to be.

Max Domi

Domi had a somewhat similar game to Nylander’s, and he picked up a 2 minute penalty for roughing. Domi skated for roughly 20 minutes in the game.

Max Domi had, to my eyes, a solid game.  He looks like he’ll be a great addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He and Nylander were the Leafs best players by a mile. They had most of their scoring chances, and the Leafs looked good whenever they were on the ice.

Overall, outside of the first period, the Leafs had a good game.

Alex Steeves had a strong game and scored a goal on the powerplay and had 3 shots on goal.

Roni Hirvonen recorded one assist on the powerplay, had 13 minutes on-ice, with 4 shots on goal, and a 36.4 percentage of zone starts.

It was an interesting affair between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators and considering the lineup the Leafs dressed, they have to be really happy with the results.

Next. Is This the Worst Period of Drafting Ever by Any Team?. dark

The same two teams play again tonight, presumably this time with the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and Ilya Samsonov.  Go Leafs!

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