Its a good thing that you can usually throw records out the window when Ottawa faces Toronto, because I am not sure the last time they met and were separated by more than 20 points.
The Leafs come into this game on a two game winning streak and have won six of their last 7, and have an extra day of rest since their 3-2 shootout win over the Predators on Wednesday night. The Senators have also won 2 straight and are coming off a win against Nashville, 4-3 in overtime on Thursday.
Toronto is firmly cemented in third spot in the Division, 5 points back of the Bruins (who also hold 4 games in hand) for second but a full 17 points up on Florida who sit in fourth.
The Senators will be getting some help on the injury front, with Mark Stone and Derick Brassard both set to return to the lineup. Stone has been out since the last time the Senators played the Leafs, a 4-3 Hockey Day in Canada Senators loss, while Brassard has sat out the last two contests.
Mike Blunden and Max McCormick have been sent to Belleville.
Vezina candidate Freddie Andersen will likely get the call in the Leafs net, while Craig Anderson will start his third straight game and has won his last 3 starts.
This will be the fourth and final meeting of the teams, with Ottawa having won 2 of the previous 3 games.
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The Senators have awarded Pierre Dorion's high level of success (tongue firmly planted in cheek) with a multi-year contract extension that carries through the 2021-22 season. Fans better hope he has more of a long-term plan than he has shown so far in his tenure, and maybe they could have let him navigate a full trade deadline successfully before giving him the keys for an extra three years.
And, goodbye Tom, we hardly knew ya. Tom Anselmi, whose greatest claim to fame in his tenure as President/CEO seems to be the decision to wrap a garbage bag around 1,500 of the most affordable seats in the house, to create a false "demand" for tickets, has left the organization after being hired just over a year ago. He was brought in to be the forefront of the new LeBreton Flats project but wasn't even at the press conference for the announcement that they were moving to the next stage of negotiations.