How much stock can you put in a dismal performance in your first game after some time off?

It’s a question worth asking the Ottawa Senators, who dropped their first game back after the three-day holiday break, 7-5, to the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday. Their sole practice since before the break was their morning skate at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, hours before puck drop. Once they hit the ice, the Sens just weren’t at their best in most facets of the game.

“There’s a little rust on a lot of players,” Sens head coach Travis Green said. “I think both sides. Probably, (the Leafs would) agree, too.”

But what’s worrisome is that familiar issues — inconsistent goaltending, sub-standard defending and spotty special teams — reared their ugly heads in the Senators’ first regular-season loss to the Maple Leafs in more than two years.

That they are one point behind Florida for the final playoff spot in the East is a silver lining for Ottawa. It wasn’t a completely crippling loss. But the Sens will need to shed whatever lingering rust remains in the week to come.

Here are some thoughts in fuller detail:

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A game to forget for Ullmark

For most of December, Linus Ullmark looked like he was turning a corner.

Entering Wednesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, his save percentage for the month was above .900 to go with a goals-against average approaching the sub-2.00 mark. He’d put together a season-long four-game win streak that saw him earn his first shutout of the year and a .928 save percentage. The NHL even named Ullmark among its three stars after going 3-0-0 last week.

Linus Ullmark, month-by-month. #Sens.

His GSAx is still second-worst (-7.9) in the league according to @MoneyPuckdotcom. But there's been some improvement month over month. pic.twitter.com/hliREgyHcS

— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) December 22, 2025

But since the Sens’ win over Boston Monday, Ullmark has dropped two consecutive games. He managed to steal a point in the overtime loss to Buffalo, but fared much worse against Toronto.

The Swede allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled in the second period after allowing two poor ones that extended Toronto’s lead. First, he failed to cover the puck on a Bobby McMann goal that gave the Leafs a 3-2 lead, then later allowed an errant rebound that led to Auston Matthews pouncing and scoring.

“I didn’t like the two goals,” Green said postgame. “And (then I) put Leevi Meriläinen in.”