Giroux breaks 2nd-period tie, Senators beat Maple Leafs 4-2 for 6th straight victory

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Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Scott Laughton (24) and Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig (71) fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Ottawa Senators’ Jake Sanderson (85) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with Claude Giroux (28) and Brady Tkachuk (7) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto (12) flips the puck past Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) during first period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Scott Laughton (24) collides with Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark (35) and defenceman Thomas Chabot (72) as centre Tim Stützle (18) handles the puck during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto (12) shoots on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz (41) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates after against the Ottawa Senators during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

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Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) celebrates with left wing Scott Laughton (24) and center Calle Jarnkrok (19) after scoring against the Ottawa Senators during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

TORONTO (AP) — Claude Giroux broke a second-period tie on a power play and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Saturday night for their sixth straight victory.

Jake Sanderson, David Perron and Michael Amadio, into the empty net, also scored. Linus Ullmark made 20 saves.

William Nylander and Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, and Anthony Stolarz stopped 21 shots. The Maple Leafs have dropped five of six.

The Senators trail their provincial rival by four points in the Atlantic Division standings. Toronto sits third after Tampa Bay beat Boston 6-2, while fourth-place Ottawa occupies the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot.

Ottawa took a 3-2 lead when Giroux’s centering pass to Ridly Greig glanced off the stick of Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev and past Stolarz.

Takeaways

Senators: Ottawa won the season series 3-0-0.

Maple Leafs: Matthews skipped the morning skate following Friday’s team off-day. The Toronto captain entered with just three goals in his last 16 games before scoring Saturday.

Key moment

Toronto defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson took an interference penalty on Matthew Highmore with an attempted reverse hit, setting up Giroux’s power-play goal.

Key stat

Senators center Tim Stutzle extended his career-high road points streak to eight games.

Up next

The Senators are at Montreal on Tuesday night. The Maple Leafs host Calgary on Monday night.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL