TORONTO – Thomas Chabot and the Senators watched every other team raise the curtain on the NHL season.
asserted
team → watch → season
The wait turned out to be well worth it.
Chabot had a goal and an assist in his first game as captain in Ottawa’s grinding 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
“It’s fun to be back home and watch some hockey at 7 p.m. on TV, but you want to be the team out there,” said the defenceman now wearing the “C” in the nation’s capital after Brady Tkachuk was shipped to the Florida Panthers in June after demanding a trade.
asserted
Tkachuk → turn → trade
“The week was long, but I thought we put in some good work.”
asserted
we → think → work
“Pretty boring” added Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark, who made 27 saves.
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who → add → saves
“Camp was short … we’ll see if there’s a little blessing in disguise.”
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we → see → disguise
The victory, however, was tainted by the loss of No. 1 blueliner Jake Sanderson in the first period when he re-aggravated a lower-body injury.
asserted
he → taint → injury
“We’ll know more in the next few days,” said Senators head coach Travis Green, who is also minus shutdown option Artem Zub.
asserted
who → know → Zub
“Sandy was smart enough to pull himself early enough that he didn’t re-aggravate it too badly.
asserted
he → pull → it
He just felt that it was coming and took himself out.
“A smart thing
asserted
it → feel → thing
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Chabot said Sanderson was “devastated” on the bench after getting hurt.
asserted
Sanderson → get → bench
“It sucks” he said.
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he → suck → ?
“You feel for a guy.
asserted
You → feel → guy
Toronto pushed in the second period with Ottawa down to five defencemen before the visitors steadied themselves to even the score 2-2, and were then rewarded midway through a spotless third when Stephen Halliday swatted home a loose puck just as a power play expired.
asserted
play → push → puck
The Maple Leafs’ high-flying attack featuring Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Kirill Marchenko looked primed for a late onslaught, but the Senators kept their structure and didn’t allow Toronto to get goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky out of the net for an extra attacker in the final minutes.
asserted
Toronto → fly → minutes
“That’s our guys playing their game,” Green said.
asserted
guys → ’ → game
“We want to be aggressive when we can.
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we → want → ?
When you’ve got the lead, it’s important that you stay aggressive, but also play smart.”
asserted
you → get → lead
Ullmark made a couple of huge stops along the way, including one he called “90 per cent luck” on Nylander in the second, to go along with some friendly bounces off posts and crossbars.
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he → make → posts
“Hips aren’t moving the way they should be in the beginning of the season,” he said.
asserted
he → move → season
“When push comes to shove, I was able to sort it all out.”
asserted
I → come → it
“If you’re going to wait a week and you had to pick a spot you want to play, it’d probably be here if it wasn’t at home,” Green said.
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Green → go → home
“Any time you play the Leafs in this building, there seems to be a little bit of more emotion.
asserted
you → play → emotion
“It’s probably good that we played here.”
asserted
we → ’ → ?
Maple Leafs associate coach Daniel Alfredsson, who suited up for 17 of his 18 NHL seasons with the Senators before spending the last three in the nation’s capital as an assistant, held a media availability ahead of facing his former team for the first time.
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who → suit → time
“It’s different, no question, being on the other side,” Alfredsson said.
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Alfredsson → ’ → side
“We wish them the best and wish us a little bit better.”
asserted
We → wish → best
Toronto rookie Gavin McKenna had a unique rookie lap in Tuesday’s season-opening game when Bobrovsky stepped on the ice first.
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Bobrovsky → have → ice
First-year players normally get a couple of twirls at the start of warm-ups alone ahead of their first game before being joined by the rest of the team.
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players → get → team
“Completely forgot,” Bobrovsky told reporters Friday after practice.
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Bobrovsky → forget → practice
“I came to (McKenna) and I also told him … so I pretended that it was my first game, too.
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it → come → him
But no, I didn’t mean to do that.
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I → mean → that
“It just happened by accident.”
asserted
It → happen → accident
The former NHL forward was asked following the morning skate how he’s changed since first stepping into the coaching limelight.
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he → ask → limelight
“Like anything in life, the more you do it, the more comfortable you feel, the more things you learn,” Green said.
asserted
Green → do → things
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” he added.
asserted
he → fly → fun
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
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