Toronto Maple Leafs (21-14-8, 16th in NHL) vs. Ottawa Senators (24-15-4, 11th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Air Canada Centre
Watch: CBC
Game Day Notes
– A regulation win tonight would see the Maple Leafs overtake both the Senators and Bruins for second in the Atlantic Division with 52 points by virtue of the tiebreaker. The Leafs and Senators both currently have six games in hand on Boston.
– Defenceman Martin Marincin will re-enter the lineup for the first time since December 10. Excluding the game against Boston in which he left injured on his fourth shift, Marincin has posted four points in his last five appearances while averaging 17:14 a night. Marincin will play on a pairing with Nikita Zaitsev, while Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick will reunite on the second pair.
Marincin split time with a variety of partners in his first 16 games of the season:
| Partner | Shared Even Strength TOI | CF% Together |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | 57:45 | 51.70% |
| Connor Carrick | 52:06 | 40.90% |
| Nikita Zaitsev | 40:35 | 57% |
| Matt Hunwick | 33:54 | 50.80% |
| Roman Polak | 25:54 | 39.20% |
| Jake Gardiner | 25:45 | 64.60% |
While we’re dealing with very small sample sizes, the possession numbers alongside Zaitsev are encouraging. Marincin’s return comes at a good time as the Leafs felt the effects of a thinned out blueline without Morgan Rielly on Thursday versus New York.
– The Senators enter the game coming off of a shutout victory over one of the best offenses in the league in the Columbus Blue Jackets, while the Leafs dropped a 5-2 decision to the New York Rangers in what head coach Mike Babcock called the team’s “least competitive night in a while.”
– The Leafs have scored four goals in the first two games of the season series (both in Ottawa), a 5-4 OT loss in the season opener and a 4-2 win last Saturday. Auston Matthews has five points in two games against the Senators in his young career. Nazem Kadri broke a seven-game pointless streak against the Senators with a two-goal game last Saturday.
Who’s Hot
- Auston Matthews: 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 13 games
- James van Riemsdyk: 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in a nine-game point streak
- Tyler Bozak: nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past seven games
- Mitch Marner: eight points (all assists) in a five-game point streak
- Nazem Kadri: eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games
- Kyle Turris: seven points (three goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak
- Mike Hoffman: six points (four goals, two assists) in his past five games
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Ott | Tor |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 52 | 50 |
| Record % | 0.605 | 0.581 |
| Home Winning % | 0.609 | 0.571 |
| Away Winning % | 0.529 | 0.571 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0.75 | 0.167 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | 0 | 0.23 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | -1.65 | -0.19 |
| Hits Per Game | 26.4 | 24.5 |
| PIM Per Game | 10.7 | 11.2 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 10.4 | 11.4 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.56 | 3.09 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 1.95 | 2.28 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.53 | 0.74 |
| Shots Per Game | 28.7 | 32.7 |
| Shots Per Goal | 11.2 | 10.6 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.089 | 0.095 |
| Power Play % | 0.17 | 0.241 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.56 | 2.86 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 1.95 | 2.26 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.56 | 0.51 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 30.4 | 32.84 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 11.88 | 11.48 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.084 | 0.087 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.826 | 0.849 |
| Save % | 0.916 | 0.913 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.52 | 2.81 |
| Shutouts | 6 | 1 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.911 | 0.905 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.52 | 3.04 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 1 | 2 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Martin Marincin – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Frank Corrado
Injured: Ben Smith (lower body), Morgan Rielly (lower body)
Ottawa Senators Projected Lines
Forwards
Zack Smith – Derick Brassard – Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Tom Pyatt
Ryan Dzingel – Kyle Turris – Bobby Ryan
Chris Kelly – Curtis Lazar – Chris Neil
Defencemen
Marc Methot – Erik Karlsson
Dion Phaneuf – Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki – Chris Wideman
Goaltenders
Starter: Mike Condon (Confirmed)
Backup: Matt O’Connor
