The Leafs hold down a wild spot in the East while the Senators trail Toronto by six points.
The Matchup: Toronto Maple Leafs (6-4-2, fourth in the Atlantic) at Ottawa Senators (4-6-0, last in the Atlantic)
Faceoff: Wednesday, November 7th, 2023, 7 p.m. (Sportsnet, TVA Sports)
The Teams: Both clubs love run-and-gun, high-scoring games. The Leafs have scored 3.42 goals per game (10th in the NHL), and the Senators 3.8 goals per game (fourth in the NHL). Both teams' problem is keeping the puck out of their net, with the Leafs giving up 3.42 goals per game (21st in the NHL) while the Senators are giving up 3.5 a game (26th in the NHL). This game should provide plenty of offence for the fans at Scotiabank on Wednesday night.
The History: The Battle of Ontario was supposed to mean more this year than it had for a long time. With the Senators originally expected to be a playoff team that hope may already be fading. The Leafs won the 2022-23 season series against the Senators 3-1-0. Auston Matthews has dominated Ottawa, scoring 23 goals in 29 games, including his memorable first four goals of his career against the Senators.
What's New? The Leafs are not off to the hottest of starts, despite their big guns. They have struggled to get depth scoring and keep the puck out of their net.
Still, their stars have been stars.
The core four of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are scoring at a point-per-game clip or better. Matthews already has three hat tricks. Nylander, a pending unrestricted free agent, is proving he wants a substantial contract, racking up 16 points in 12 games.
The Leafs have been comeback heroes of late, recovering from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-5, on Monday night. Matthews and Marner, had seven points between them. Joseph Woll came into the game in relief of Ilya Samsonov and allowed only one goal on 19 shots. Woll has been spectacular to start the season, posting a save percentage of .930 in seven games.
Meanwhile, the Senators had a tumultuous weekend. During their home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, chants of "Fire DJ" rang through the arena, and the Senators were booed off the ice.
Afterward, Sens captain Brady Tkachuk called out the fans for the booing, calling it "bulls**t." With a few days' reflection, on Tuesday, Tkachuk didn't apologize.
"I've moved right on," Tkachuk said. "My focus has now been on Toronto since the game. I've kind of deleted my social media, so I haven't really seen anything."
Veteran forward Claude Giroux also chimed in on some of the ongoing dialogue from fans and media.
"It's getting pretty old," Giroux said. "The fans and the media talking about DJ. It's frustrating, actually. He's our coach. He's not going anywhere. We want to play for him. It's a distraction that we don't need right now."
The Senators do have some good news: defenceman Artem Zub* has been at practice in a contact jersey. Head coach DJ Smith said Zub hasn't gotten full clearance from doctors but he looks good.
*Update from practice Wednesday morning: The Sens are "hopeful" he can go tonight. The Sens will dress seven defencemen for the warmup, just in case.
The addition of Zub to the Sens blueline is desperately needed, with fellow blueliners Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom still out. Smith also gave an update on injured forwards Ridly Greig and Mark Kastelic, who were hurt Thursday night. Both will be out for at least two weeks.
The Lineups: With Artem Zub's probable inclusion, it means Nikolas Mantipalo draws out of the lineup for the Senators. Leafs' prospect Nick Robertson has been called up; he has been tearing up the AHL for the Marlies with 11 points in 9 games.
Jakob Chychrun limped off the ice at practice on Tuesday, but Smith says he's fine. Erik Brannstrom is still practicing in a non-contact jersey. Chabot will miss another month.
The expected duel in the net will likely feature Joseph Woll for the Leafs. The Senators will be playing the first game of a back-to-back, and Anton Forsberg was in the starter's net in Tuesday's practice. Forsberg is coming off a relief appearance versus the Tampa Bay Lightning in which he gave up three goals on 17 shots. He is 2-2-0 this season with a dismal .863 save percentage.
Probable Line Combinations:
Tkachuk – Norris - Batherson
Joseph- Stutzle – Giroux
Kubalik - Chartier- Tarasenko
Kelly – Jarventie - MacEwen
Sanderson- Zub
Chychrun – JBD
Kleven- Hamonic
Forsberg