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The Toronto Maple Leafs traditionally have trouble with the Ottawa Senators, even though their provincial rival has taken up semi-permanent residence at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. This season has been no different, as the talented yet enigmatic Sens have a conference-worst 12-17-4 record, have fired GM Pierre Dorion and head coach DJ Smith, but beat the Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank Arena in early November and nearly defeated them in Kanata, ON earlier this month if it wasn’t for the goaltending heroics of Joseph Woll and Martin Jones.
The Leafs start a stretch of three games in four nights to finish off 2023 against the Senators at SBA on Wednesday with Jones making his fifth start in the last seven games. Toronto is riding the 34-year-old veteran since presumptive starter Ilya Samsonov has continued to play woefully, but it is not known if the former Sharks and Kraken starter can carry the bulk of work.
“I talked to (Ilya) before he left (for the Christmas break).… Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It was a chance for him to forget about hockey for a few days, enjoy his family, enjoy some time away from it all, and come back refreshed and ready to go.… A lot is riding on Samsonov being able to get restarted and provide the club with some quality play between the pipes. Keefe indicated that Woll has not been on the ice since the injury occurred on December 7, and the recovery time for a high-ankle sprain with a goaltender is likely to be lengthier than the six weeks it took defenseman Timothy Liljegren to come back from his. That could mean that the young goalie will be out until after the NHL All-Star break.
Jones is 4-1-0, with a 2.79 GAA and .917 save %, (and will likely make two of the three starts before the end of the year) but the Leafs are precariously thin between the pipes after Samsonov. 22-year-old Dennis Hildeby is playing very well in his first full AHL season but has only 15 games of North American pro experience.
Keefe indicated that injured defenseman Mark Giordano is inching closer to returning to the lineup, and could get the go-ahead after practice on Thursday, but that Ryan Reaves has not returned to the ice and is not close to returning.
Conor Timmins will continue to sit against Ottawa, and the Leafs will go with the bottom pairing of Simon Benoit and William Lagesson.
Joonas Korpisalo (6-11-0, 3.62 GAA, .891 save %) will get the start for the Sens. *******
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