Stutzle’s 4 points help Senators pull away to defeat Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Tim Stützle had a goal and three assists, and the Ottawa Senators scored three straight goals in 3:11 during the third period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

“I felt like I wanted the puck tonight and I thought our whole line (with Mathieu Joseph and Claude Giroux) was going,” Stutzle said. “We were having the puck the whole game, creating chances and staying on pucks.”

Dominik Kubalik put the Senators up 4-3 on the power play at 11:56 of the third when his centering pass went off the skate of Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano at the top of the goal crease.

Stutzle made it 5-3 45 seconds later when he one-timed a pass from Joseph at 12:41, and Giroux scored into an open net at 15:07 for the 6-3 final after Stutzle stole the puck from Toronto goalie Joseph Woll behind the net and fed Giroux in front.

“We battled pretty good there and got a tough bounce on the PK and then kind of lost it,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said. “But I think we are facing adversity early and I think it’s good for us. We need to grow and build, we’ve got a lot of new guys here, so build the team together and build around that.”

Giroux had two goals and an assist, Kubalik scored twice, and Joseph had three assists for the Senators (5-6-0), who had lost five of their previous six games. Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist, and Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves.

“It’s always hard, you always want to win,” Stutzle said. “I hate losing. I think the whole group does, everybody in that room knows we are all about winning hockey games. There’s a lot of noise around us, but I think we showed tonight that we can win hockey games. I think we played great. Great effort tonight. Korpisalo was great and kept us in the game the whole time.”

Nylander had a goal and an assist to extend his season-opening point streak to 13 games, and Woll made 21 saves for the Maple Leafs (6-5-2), who are 1-3-2 in their past six games.

“We’ve got a lot of hockey left here,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It’s early. But it’s time to pull it together here. We have to get our game in order and do all we can to take care of each other, take care of guys who are struggling in whatever position it is.”

Chychrun put the Senators up 3-2 at 14:06 of the second period when he one-timed a pass by Stutzle from just above the left hash marks between Woll’s pads.

“First and foremost, not good enough by me,” Woll said. “I thought we played well and generated some offense. … I know I need to be better in that game.”

Nicholas Robertson tied it 3-3 at 7:42 of the third when he redirected a backhand pass from Max Domi on a 2-on-1 during a delayed penalty.

Giroux gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead at 1:05 of the second when he shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle after a receiving a centering pass from Joseph, who was behind the net.

“We’ve been talking about it for a few weeks,” Giroux said. “We want to play consistent and play the right way. Coming on the road, it’s a great opportunity to come together and do that. So it definitely feels good. We’re happy with the way we played.”

Tyler Bertuzzi tied it 2-2 at 4:16 when he got to a loose puck and shot blocker side from the slot after being hit by Nylander’s initial shot.

The Maple Leafs went up 1-0 on the power play at 5:47 of the first period when Nylander shot over Korpisalo’s glove from the high slot.

Kubalik tied it 1-1 at 7:12, one-timing a Tyler Kleven pass from the left point.

“I didn’t feel off, I felt the same as I always do but just some goals I’d like to have back,” Woll said. “That’s the way hockey goes, and I know I need to be better for this team.”

Korpisalo kept it tied at 19:05 when he made a glove save on Auston Matthews’ backhand shot after Matthews dragged the puck around Kleven and skated through the slot.

Toronto has given up four or more goals in seven straight home games to start the season for the first time since 1976-77.

When asked where his concern level is regarding how the Maple Leafs have played defensively at home, Keefe said, “Very high.

“Some of it is individual, some it is collective within the structure, some of it is just being committed. We sit in here and celebrate guys who score big numbers, we don’t talk enough about what we give up. That’s the reality. We have to prioritize keeping the puck out of our net.”

NOTES: Senators defenseman Artem Zub was considered a game-time decision by coach D.J. Smith but missed his seventh straight game with an upper body injury. ... Giroux extended his point streak to five games (nine points; four goals, five assists). ... Chychrun and Ottawa defenseman Travis Hamonic were each plus-4. ... Maple Leafs center John Tavares (two assists) had his 264th multipoint game, tying Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals for the seventh-most among active players. … Nylander has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) during his streak.