Game 78 Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators

Coming off a frustrating 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators (27-44-6) will look to continue their recent domination of their Ontario rivals tonight, when the Toronto Maple Leafs (45-25-7) come to town once again tonight.

The Leafs have struggled of late, and are looking to right the ship going into what is sure to be a challenging first-round series against the Boston Bruins. The Senators, meanwhile, are obviously just trying to find something to build on for next season.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00PMET, and you can catch this one across the Sportsnet network in the Ontario region, as well as on the radio on TSN1200.

The Senators will feature a bit of a different lineup tonight, with Mark Borowiecki out with a UBI. Zack Smith will be a gametime decision, and Craig Anderson starts in goal. Ottawa didn’t run lines at their skate this morning, so it’s fair to say it’s business as usual.

Game Notes

• If Zack Smith can go tonight, it will be interesting to see who comes out of the lineup, as the forward core has played fairly well. Lindberg seems like the obvious candidate, but you never know.
• Ottawa will have a hard time managing anymore injuries on the back-end, with Max Lajoie and Erik Brannstrom both apparently out for an extended period of time.
• Part of me wishes Nilsson were getting the start tonight, I really want to beat the Leafs and feel he gives Ottawa the best chance.
• Marc Crawford says the coaching change has opened up dialogue with the players. Seems like it’s working.

Here are some stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick: