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Senators meet rival Maple Leafs in home opener

Oct 4, 2007 - 2:59 PM Toronto (0-0-1) at Ottawa (1-0-0) 7:00 pm EDT

OTTAWA (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will look for some redemption after the Ottawa Senators spoiled their home opener.

The Senators kick off the home portion of their schedule when they face the Maple Leafs for the second night in a row on Thursday.

Dany Heatley, who reportedly signed a six-year, $45 million contract prior to Wednesday's season opener, is already proving he is worth the money.

After tying the game late in the third period, Heatley netted the winner in overtime as Ottawa edged Toronto, 4-3.

With one year remaining on his current contract, Heatley had been adamant on not negotiating a new deal during the season. The 26-year-old left wing and the Senators took care of business Wednesday afternoon, agreeing to terms on a contract that is expected to pay Heatley an average of $7.5 million per season.

After tallying for 113 of the squad's 288 goals last season, the Senators' stellar first line picked up right where they left off on Wednesday. In addition to Heatley's two goals, captain Daniel Alfredsson netted a first-period tally and center Jason Spezza registered an assist.

After Andrew Raycroft got the call in goal on Wednesday, the Maple Leafs will likely turn to Vesa Toskala in this contest. Toronto traded away multiple draft picks to acquire the Finnish netminder in the offseason. Toskala went 26-10-1 with a 2.35 goals-against average and .908 save percentage for the San Jose Sharks last season.

On Wednesday, Toronto's best offensive weapon was Nik Antropov, who scored two goals in the opening session. Captain Mats Sundin logged assists on both of those markers.

In addition to leading the the team in scoring with 76 points last season, Sundin reached the 20-goal mark for the 12th consecutive time. The 36-year-old Swede needs just two goals and six points to match Darryl Sittler's franchise records in those categories.