It has been exactly four years since the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs last played a split-squad double-header. On September 24, 2022, German star Tim Stützle along with a mixed-bag roster of both veteran and rookies took the ice in Toronto. He scored the lone goal in a 4-1 loss at Scotiabank Arena while the squad in Ottawa defeated the Leafs 4-2. Despite the fact that the Senators lost both games last night, history almost repeated itself with the 2020 third overall NHL draft pick once again scoring the only goal in their 6-1 loss in Toronto. This goal, however, was so silky smooth that it is surely replaying in the minds of Senators fans this morning.
TIM STÜTZLE, HOW DO YOU DO?! 💥 pic.twitter.com/8tvypmK1iG
— NHL (@NHL) September 23, 2026
The Senators potential top line with Stützle, newly acquired winger André Burakovsky and Senator for life Drake Batherson came to Toronto to work on their chemistry and puck-moving skills. Within the first ten minutes of the first period, their line opened the scoring on the second shot of the game. Burkaovsky and rookie Christian Kyrou carried the puck and set up Stützle for a beautiful shifty goal that beat defenceman Darren Raddysh and net-minder Sergei Bobrovsky cleanly.
The potential top line
There has been a lot of chatter on social media about whether or not Burakovsky can keep up with Stützle’s speed and whether he can be an effective top-six winger. Although we only have a small sample size so far, it looks like the pair may amount to something. Burakovsky showed how good of a puck carrier he can be and had some impressive moves on the top line. The duo was responsible for a total of four shots, two points, two hits and three blocked shots. It was the one positive to come out of a rather lacklustre preseason game.
With minor blue line injuries currently plaguing much of the defence core and a split squad game not allowing for a regular lineup, there can’t be much said of the results of these preseason games for either teams. The hope for the Senators is that with more support on the backend, their offense can take off when the nation’s capital comes back to Toronto for their first regular season game next Saturday night.
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