Teodors Bļugers scores empty-net goal in Toronto preseason win

Playing on the road in a split-squad matchup, Bļugers logged 16 minutes and 51 seconds of ice time for Toronto. During his shifts, he registered three shots on goal, doled out two hits, won seven of his 13 faceoff draws, and finished the contest with a positive plus-minus rating. His late power-play goal came after the Senators pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, pushing the score to 4-2.

Wednesday’s action featured the Maple Leafs divided into two separate squads playing a pair of games against Ottawa. While Bļugers and his teammates took a 4-2 win on the road, the other half of the Toronto roster earned a commanding 6-1 victory over the Senators in their concurrent fixture.

The scoring in Bļugers’ game opened in the second period, when Henrik Rubinskis put the Maple Leafs ahead in the fourth minute. Ottawa answered less than three minutes later when Dylan Cozens tied the game. In the middle of the third period, Steven Lorentz restored Toronto’s one-goal advantage, though the hosts responded quickly once more as Hoyt Stanley knotted the score again in under a minute.

With regulation winding down, Ryan Tverberg broke the tie by netting the game-winner for Toronto with just over four minutes remaining on the clock, setting the stage for Bļugers to ice the contest in the dying seconds.

The National Hockey League regular season is scheduled to begin on September 29, leaving teams with a limited window to finalize rosters and chemistry during the remainder of the preseason schedule.