Tkachuk and Forsberg lead Senators 6-2 at Maple Leafs
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TORONTO (AP) — Brady Tkachuk scored twice, Anton Forsberg made 31 saves and the Ottawa Senators defeated Toronto 6-2 on Friday night in the Maple Leafs’ first game since losing the All -Star Auston Matthews out with a knee injury.
Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, and Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson and Derick Brassard also scored for the Senators, who won at Scotiabank Arena in front of fans for the first time since October 2018. Tim Stutzle add two assists.
William Nylander and Joey Anderson scored for Toronto, which was without Matthews because of a sprained knee that will keep the star center out for at least three weeks. Matthews, who will miss next week’s NHL All-Star Game, was injured in Toronto’s 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
The Leafs fell to 31-17-2 when the reigning Hart Trophy winner has been out of the lineup since selecting him first overall in the 2016 draft.
Ilya Samsonov, who was slated to sit out the night, got off to a blistering start and finished with 28 saves as the Leafs suffered just their fourth regular-season home loss. Matt Murray was scheduled to see his first action in goal for the Leafs since Jan. 17, but appeared to take a high shot from Nylander in warmups and did not play.
Tied at 2 in the second period, Ottawa took its third lead of the night on a power play when Brassard’s cross went in past Toronto defenseman Timothy Liljegren for his seventh goal of the season.
The Senators made it 4-2 at 16:37 when Batherson tipped Samsonov for his 15th. Tkachuk added his second of the night at 3:32 of the third. Giroux made it 6-2 with five minutes remaining with his 17th.
ENTERING
Toronto captain John Tavares filled Matthews’ spot between Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting on the front line to start the game, while Pontus Holmberg centered Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok.
UNTIL THE NEXT
Senators: Host Montreal Saturday night.
Maple Leafs: Host Washington on Sunday.
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