Maple Leafs at Senators
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to hold onto a playoff position in a tight Eastern Conference race when they begin a three-game road trip with a matchup against the Atlantic Division-rival Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. The Maple Leafs lead Florida by two points in the battle for third place in the Atlantic after losing four of six (2-3-1), including Thursday’s 3-2 setback against Dallas at home.
“What we learned is that when we’re playing against a team we know is going to make it hard on us defensively, we can’t spot them a lead. …,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters after his team gave up the first two goals Thursday. “That’s a tough team to play against when you’re chasing the game.” The Maple Leafs aim to get off to a strong start and beat the Senators for the third time in three tries this season as leading scorer Auston Matthews (41 goals) scored twice and set up another in the first two meetings. Ottawa, which is second-to-last in the East, comes in off a 3-2 win over Arizona at home on Thursday to snap a six-game losing streak (0-4-2) and the Senators continue a stretch of six contests against teams fighting for playoff spots. “These are (Stanley Cup) playoff games for us,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith told reporters after the win. " … You’ve got teams that are scratching and clawing to be in the playoffs, and they’re going to play hard every night. For our young team, we’re going to have to be ready.”
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: CBC, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (30-2-8): Matthews pushed his team-leading total to 69 points with a goal Thursday while right wing Mitch Marner had an assist and boasts 12 of his 58 points in his last 10 contests. Toronto, which already had three regulars on the injured list, lost left wing Andreas Johnsson (eight goals, 21 points) for about eight weeks after he suffered a knee injury in the first period Thursday. Backup Jack Campbell won two of his first three starts after being acquired and is expected to get the call Saturday with Frederik Andersen (24-10-6, .909 save percentage) taking the net Sunday in Buffalo.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (19-27-11): Right wing Connor Brown recorded an assist Thursday to take over sole possession of the scoring lead for Ottawa with 35 points, one more than left wing Anthony Duclair and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Duclair, one of the team’s representatives in the All-Star Game, did not hit the scoresheet in six straight games and has not added to his career-high 21-goal total in the past 19 contests. Left wing Brady Tkachuk, who also participated in the All-Star Game weekend, had two goals and an assist in the last four contests while rookie forward Drake Batherson finished with a career-high five shots and an assist Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa D Mark Borowiecki suffered an ankle injury in Thursday’s win and is out indefinitely.
2. Toronto C John Tavares boasts five goals and four assists during a six-game point streak.
3. The Senators are 0-for-10 on the power play the last four games and just 6-for-12 in penalty killing during the same stretch.