With news of
Auston Matthews' injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs went into Friday night's matchup with the Ottawa Senators shorthanded enough.
However,
Matt Murray, who was slated to start in net, was surprisingly replaced by
Ilya Samsonov after warmups after something 'flared up' in the veteran netminder.
So, the Leafs were somewhat discombobulated to start the game, and things just went south from there. The first period ended knotted up at one goal apiece, but the Senators would take control of the game in the middle frame and never look back.
Ottawa potted two more in the third, closing the game out by a final score of 6-2.
Claude Giroux scored the final goal of the game, sending Leafs defenseman
Rasmus Sandin belly-first into no-man's land:
The tally was Giroux's 17th of the season in his first season in Ottawa. While the Senators' fortunes look a lot like last season's, the Giroux signing will likely be an important addition to the team for the immediate future beyond this season.
Full highlights:
