Senators at Maple Leafs
The Ottawa Senators are inching closer to first place in the Atlantic Division but they are hitting a rugged stretch of the schedule as they prepare to visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Senators won three of their last four to pull within four points of division-leading Montreal with three games in hand.
"We need to take care of ourselves and not focus on what other teams are doing," Senators captain Erik Karlsson said. "I feel we've done a good job to put ourselves in this position." The Senators are coming off a 3-0 win at New Jersey on Thursday night, kicking off a stretch in which they play on the road six times in a seven-game span. Ottawa is 6-1-0 in the last seven meetings against the Maple Leafs, including a 3-2 shooting victory in Toronto on Jan. 21. Although the Maple Leafs have hit a bit of a rut with three losses in their last four games, they still hold down the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, leading the New York Islanders by one point and Philadelphia by two.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE SENATORS (30-19-6): Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf, acquired from Toronto in a blockbuster nine-player deal last February, had scored in three of his last four games after tallying just once in the previous 18 contests. Phaneuf, who served as captain of the Maple Leafs at the time of the deal, brought an end to the Senators' five-game power-play drought at New Jersey with his ninth goal. Karlsson also netted his ninth goal Thursday and has 29 points in 31 games versus Toronto.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (26-19-11): Toronto could be without one of its top offensive players as rookie Mitch Marner, who leads the team with 48 points, missed practice Friday after hurting his shoulder while falling into the boards at Columbus on Wednesday. "He's a huge part of our team obviously," forward James van Riemsdyk said. "You've seen the kind of success that he's had already." Rookie Nikita Soshnikov, sidelined the past four games, will dress if Marner is unable to play.
OVERTIME
1. Ottawa's Mike Condon and Craig Anderson have combined for nine shutouts, one shy of the franchise record.
2. Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews made a spectacular NHL debut versus Ottawa, scoring four goals in the season opener.
3. The Senators are 20-3-2 this season when scoring the opening goal.