The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to bounce back from a disappointing effort against Montreal in the first of three straight at home against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Leafs appeared disconnected and lethargic at times in a 2-1 loss to the Habs on Saturday, which ended a four-game winning streak and hopes to get back on track against last-place Ottawa, but the 3-12-1 Sens won 2-1 in Winnipeg on Saturday and always plays tough against their provincial rival.
Veteran Joe Thornton will make his return to the lineup after missing 10 games with a cracked rib and play on the left side with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Nic Petan would sit with Thornton returning, and preliminary indications are that Ilya Mikheyev will return to the third line with Pierre Engvall and Alex Kerfoot, Zach Hyman will hope to spark the combo of John Tavares and William Nylander, and Jimmy Vesey will shift to the fourth line with Travis Boyd and Jason Spezza.
Frederik Andersen, who is 6-1-1, with a 2.39 GAA and .916 save percentage in the last eight games, will make his ninth straight start for Toronto. After missing Saturday’s match against the Jets with an upper-body injury, Matt Murray did take to the ice for the morning skate, but Ottawa beat reporter Ken Warren reports that Marcus Hogberg will be between the pipes for the Sens.
Jack Campbell was on the ice at Scotiabank Arena for the club’s optional skate, but Keefe indicated that there is no specific timeline for the goaltender’s return, but it is expected to be more than a week, which makes it likely that Michael Hutchinson will play one of the two back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Toronto Marlies begin their season in Winnipeg with the first of four straight against the Manitoba Moose at the Bell MTS Centre on Monday. The AHL getting started provides the Leafs with an avenue to get young players like Nick Robertson, Rasmus Sandin, Adam Brooks, and Timothy Liljegren, it also shows how the organization’s goaltending depth is suffering due to injuries.
With Campbell unavailable, Hutchinson moved from the taxi squad to the active roster and youngster Joseph Woll took his spot. Marlies head coach Greg Moore indicated that Ian Scott is out week-to-week with a groin injury, which means 27-year-old ECHL veteran Andrew D’Agostini will likely be getting the lion’s share of the starts until Woll is sent down and Scott returns to the lineup.
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