Ottawa Senators held Toronto Maple Leafs to a 0:0 draw on Wednesday night in a game that felt more like a chess match than a hockey contest. Both sides arrived with nothing to prove and everything to lose, which is how these matchups often start when the standings haven't decided much yet. The result kept both teams at zero points after this opening round of games.
Ottawa came into the night having tasted defeat just two days earlier against Montreal. A 2:3 loss on Monday would have left a sour taste, but this time around the visitors couldn't find the net. Toronto had endured back-to-back losses to the Canadiens on Sunday, going down 1:4 and 3:4 in what looked like a rough evening for their defence. Neither side showed much urgency to change course.
And here's the thing about goalless games — they're not decided by what didn't happen but by who made the fewer mistakes. Ottawa's goaltender had little to do, while Toronto's netminder faced a steady stream of chances that never quite materialised into something meaningful. By then, the momentum had stalled for both clubs.
Looking at the recent form, Ottawa's string of losses to Carolina in April stands out like a sore thumb. Four defeats in a row against the Hurricanes would have rattled any dressing room. Toronto's problems against Montreal on Sunday suggested similar vulnerability, though they did manage to squeeze one past Ottawa back in April.
The standings after this match tell you nothing, really. Both teams sit at zero games played, zero points — a blank slate that means the real work hasn't even begun yet. What matters is whether either side can turn those April struggles into something resembling consistency.
