Senators at Maple Leafs
The Ottawa Senators refuse to wilt in their pursuit of a playoff berth and go for their fourth consecutive victory when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. The Senators have gone beyond regulation in each of their last three contests to improve to 18-3-2 in their last 23 and remain three points behind Boston for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with four games to play.
“It’s a huge game, you can’t really say much more," Ottawa rookie Mark Stone said of Sunday's matchup. "If we just continue the winning streak we’re on, you just never know what’s going to happen.” One of the Senators' losses during their torrid stretch was a 4-3 overtime setback at Toronto on March 28 - a game in which they blew a two-goal lead in the third period. Andrew Hammond, who improved to 17-1-1 with Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over Washington, missed last week's matchup with the Maple Leafs due to injury.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, City, TVA
ABOUT THE SENATORS (40-26-12): Ottawa continued its penchant for dramatic victories with its second straight overtime win, this coming courtesy of Kyle Turris' breakaway tally after the Senators blew a three-goal lead. Stone has scored three times in the last five games to boost his season total to 21 while former Maple Leaf Clarke MacArthur has points in four of five contests since returning from a stint of nearly six weeks on the disabled list. Captain Erik Karlsson collected a pair of assists Saturday to give him 14 points in his last 13 games.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (29-43-7): Toronto wasted a sensational performance by James Reimer, who made 49 saves in Saturday's 2-1 shootout loss in Boston and has turned aside 89-of-91 shots in his last two starts. Jonathan Bernier should be back in net attempting to halt a string of seven straight defeats, including a 4-3 setback at Buffalo on Wednesday in which the Maple Leafs coughed up a two-goal lead. The Maple Leafs, who have dropped 23-of-24 on the road, will be going for their first three-game home winning streak since Dec. 13-16.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa has lost its last five games in Toronto.
2. Maple Leafs C Tyler Bozak recorded his first career hat trick and a four-point performance in last weekend's victory over the Senators.
3. Karlsson on Saturday became the second-fastest Swedish defenseman to reach 300 points, needing five games more than Borje Salming (388).