By The Canadian Press

Batherson, Cozens lead Senators to 5-2 win over struggling Leafs

Feb 28, 2026 | 7:10 PM

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs gave up four goals in the second period and dropped a 5-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.

Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice, and Thomas Chabot also got on the board for the Senators, who improved to 29-22-8 on the season. Cozens also added an assist.

Morgan Rielly and William Nylander found the back of the net for the Maple Leafs (27-24-9), who have dropped three in a row. Their last win was Feb. 4 against the Edmonton Oilers, just before the Olympic break.

Rielly got the scoring started with his eighth of the season less than three minutes into the first period, but it was all Senators from there.

Ottawa landed the next 19 shots on net and scored three unanswered to take a two-goal lead midway through the second frame.

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Nylander responded to cut the Senators’ lead to 3-2, but Batherson struck back with his second of the period less than two minutes later on a play the Maple Leafs challenged for offside and lost.

Cozens registered his second goal on the ensuing penalty, chasing goalie Joseph Woll after 23 saves on 28 shots. Anthony Stolarz replaced Woll and stopped all 12 shots he faced.

Linus Ullmark had 21 saves for the Senators.

The Leafs frustrations boiled over early in the third period in the form of a brawl in front of Stolarz, which resulted in 28 penalty minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct to Max Domi.

It was the Leafs first home game since captain Auston Matthews won gold with Team USA at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

TAKEAWAYS

Maple Leafs: Toronto’s slow starts continued. After scoring the first goal and recording two shots, the Leafs were outscored 1-0 and outshot 16-0 for the remainder of the first period. The two shots marked the Leafs lowest total of any period this season.

Senators: Ottawa’s win was its first against the Maple Leafs since it lost to its provincial rival in a six-game first-round playoff series last season. The teams will battle twice more this season, with both games in Ottawa.

KEY MOMENT

The Maple Leafs honoured each of their three Olympians during the first TV break. Sweden’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nylander, who returned home without hardware, received widespread applause.

But the reception for gold medallist Matthews wasn’t as warm, as the Team USA captain was initially met with boos from the crowd before they were drowned out by cheers. American teammate Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, was jeered when he appeared on the big screen. The U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold-medal game in Italy.

KEY STAT

Matthews extended his career-long assist streak to six games when he set up Rielly’s first-period goal. Oddly, the one-time 69-goal scorer has also now gone seven straight without a marker.

UP NEXT

Senators: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Maple Leafs: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2026.

Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press