UPDATE: PHILLIPS AND RYAN WILL PLAY, WIERCIOCH AND CONDRA COME OUT. LEHNER WILL START
It was a little later than expected, but the Battle Of Ontario will kick off in earnest tonight when the Ottawa Senators host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 6:00 pm.
Both teams played on Saturday night, with the Senators dropping a shootout 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets. (Check out the recap at that link to see the good and the bad, but now it is on to tonight). Meanwhile, the Leafs played a roller-coaster game against the Rangers that saw them blow a 3-1 lead and fall behind 4-3 before scoring two more to take the game 5-4.
Paul MacLean didn't announce his starting goalie and will not do so publicly until around 4:00 today, but signs point to Robin Lehner taking to the ice tonight. The Senators have played a lot of hockey and will continue with a tough November schedule, so the alternating might return after Anderson started 3 straight this week. Lehner has been prowling waiting for his chance since losing 4-1 in Boston and allowing a couple of questionable goals. It was his first weak start of the season and you can bet he has something to prove after that.
Jonathan Bernier played against New York, so expect James Reimer to face the Sens. Reimer has had the Senators' number in the past, with 9-2-1 record and 1.98 GAA and .944 SP in 13 appearances, not to mention 3 of his 11 career shutouts. The Senators need to find a way to solve him if they are going to win this one.
Paul MacLean was hopeful after last night's game that some or all of the injured players who sat out Saturday - Chris Phillips, Bobby Ryan and Alex Chiasson - might be available for tonight. Ryan and Chiasson would be key figures to get back, while the defense has played a pretty good brand of "bend but don't break" style of defense. They continue to allow too many shots against, but actual real scoring chances are being limited. And when those chances do come, the goaltending has held up for the most part.
The combinations that the Senators used on Saturday (Cowen-Ceci; Borowiecki-Karlsson and Gryba-Wiercioch) worked well, but if they want Phillips' experience in the lineup against the Leafs, I would sit Wiercioch for this one.
The Senators need to find some scoring, and the lineup was juggled last night after starting with Erik Condra on the top line. He was shuffled down and replaced by Mark Stone, and the ripple effect resulted in a complete makeover. If Ryan and/or Chiasson come back tonight, who knows what combinations MacLean will send over the boards.
The Leafs and Senators have almost identical special teams stats, with both power plays clicking at 21.6% while the Leafs have a minute edge on the PK, and I do mean slim. Ottawa has killed 84.0% of their opponent's power plays, while the Leafs have been successful on 84.3%.
Phil Kessel leads the Leafs with 8 goals and 19 points in 14 games this season, and has been in on 45% of his team's goals.
The Senators are the only team in the league unbeaten in regulation at home (4-0-3) while the Leafs have been pretty good on the road (3-1-2). Toronto sits one point behind Ottawa, with the Senators having a game in hand. The Leafs have been just average at home (4-4-0), a fact that could work to the Sens advantage if it feels like a split crowd as is the tradition in Battle of Ontario games played in Ottawa.
Mark Stone had his 5 game point streak snapped against the Jets, and will be looking to start a new one, whatever line his is assigned to. If I had my way it would be Kid Line re-united, as they have been the most effective line in the offensive zone over the last few games, and were again last night before the shuffle happened.
Nobody asked MacLean about his shootout selection during the post-game press conference, which was kind of surprising. Almost everyone, from Craig Anderson to Mark Borowiecki to MacLean himself referred to the shootout as a "crapshoot" or "skills competition" after the game. Maybe so, but that shooter selection still bothers me and this is a preview not a recap, but it is almost like the Senators were trying to make a point about the shootout rather than get the extra point.
This will be the last game of the 4 game homestand for the Senators (2-0-1 so far) before heading out for a 3 game trip to Western Canada, starting in Vancouver and then visiting Edmonton and ending up in Calgary, so adjust your internal clocks accordingly for the upcoming week. Can you get jet lag without actually traveling?
The game tonight is on City TV.
Predictions? I am sure we will see a lot of Toronto trolls in the comments section today!