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Game Day: Maple Leafs @ Senators - First round playoff preview?

January 14, 2017, 9:17 AM ET [27 Comments]
Jared Crozier
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Senators will host the Maple Leafs for the second time this season, and the first time since Auston Matthews' memorable 4 goal NHL debut. What most people tend to forget amid the Matthews hype was that the Senators actually won the game 5-4.

It has been a while since both rival clubs have been in the mix of the playoff race at the same time at this point in the season. Both Ottawa and Toronto will play their 41st game Saturday, marking the midway point of their seasons. It is also the four point game, with the Senators sitting two points up on the Leafs for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division (both wild card spots being currently occupied by Metropolitan Division teams a couple of points up on the Senators.

Toronto wrapped up their mandatory five day break with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Friday night. They have the best road special teams units in the league, with both their 30.3% power play and 90.5% penalty kill ranking first in each category away from the ACC.

Ottawa will be looking to extend their winning streak to 3 games, and are coming off of one of their most complete efforts of the season in a 4-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. If they can replicate that performance they will be a tough team to beat on any night, but their problem has been finding that consistency and it is easier said than done.

A big part of that equation is whether or not Bobby Ryan can build upon the game he played against the Penguins. Not only did he score a goal, which has been a rarity, but he had a positive impact on the game as a whole, which has also not happened on enough occasions for the Senators liking this season.

Mike Condon got the day off Friday to rest and recuperate, having played every game for over a month. The Senators have had some big gaps in their schedule in that time, and are about to embark on a stretch where they play almost every other day from now until the All-Star break later this month, and it looks like the ball will be Condon's to run with for the duration without a break, so any time off will benefit him.

These two teams are very close in the standings, but have done it in vastly different ways. The Leafs are the 5th best offense in the league in terms of goals per game, while the Senators are 22nd. On the other hand the Senators are ranked 9th in goals against, as opposed to the Leafs who are 18th.

Matthews along with Mitch Marner and William Nylander have given Leafs fans hope for the present and future, with each of the rookies among the top 4 scorers on the team while each playing primarily on a different line. Matthews has points in 9 of his last 10 games, including multi-point games on four occasions in that stretch. Each of the rookies had a point last night in New York. Mike Babcock has done a good job of balancing his lines and rolling them, with no forward averaging more than 18 minutes per game.

Perhaps even to the surprise of many, including a lot of Leafs fans, the Blue and White are in the thick of the playoff chase and with them and the Senators both holding 5 games in hand on (and both within 3 points of) the Bruins, both Ontario teams stand a great shot at seeing the postseason, and while it is far too early to project it seriously, this could very well be a first round playoff match-up. That would certainly rejuvenate the Battle of Ontario that has been dulled in recent years.



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