NHL pre-season roundup: Maple Leafs hold off Senators rally for 4-3 win

By Canadian Press on September 21, 2025.

OTTAWA — The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and held on for a 4-3 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday in NHL pre-season action at Canadian Tire Centre.

Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson and William Villeneuve each scored in the opening period to push the Leafs ahead.

Ridly Greig put the Senators on the board 1:45 into the second before Matthew Barbolini bumped Toronto’s lead to 4-1 just under four minutes later.

Arthur Kaliyev, in the second, and Olle Lycksell, in the third, pulled Ottawa within one but that was as close as the home side would get.

Vyacheslav Peksa made 16 saves on 18 shots for Toronto, while Artur Akhtyamov stopped 16-of-17 shots. Linus Ullmark gave up three goals on eight shots in the opening period for Ottawa, with Mads Sogaard making 11 saves on 12 shots in relief.

The Leafs host the Senators on Tuesday at Scotiabank Centre for the second game of a home-and-home series.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday:

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WILD 3 JETS 2 (OT)

WINNIPEG, Man. — Yakov Trenin’s second goal of the game, scored at 3:59 of overtime, gave the visiting Minnesota Wild a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets led 2-1 with under three minutes left in the third period when the Wild’s Hunter Haight scored on the power play to force the extra period.

Morgan Barron and Danil Zhilkin scored first-period goals for the Jets, with Samuel Fagemo assisting on both.

Trenin started the comeback with a goal at 4:23 of the second period.

Wild defenceman David Jiricek was penalized 34 seconds into overtime for tripping the Jets’ Brad Lambert but Winnipeg couldn’t convert on the power play.

The Jets outshot the Wild 23-19, and 4-2 in overtime. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Wild, while Isaac Poulter stopped nine of 11 shots and Thomas Milic stopped seven of eight shots for the Jets.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press