Game 42 Preview and Open Thread: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

For whatever reason, the Edmonton Oilers seem to act as if the Ottawa Senators are an ECHL team. Going 9-0-0 against the Senators is something we will probably never see for the rest of our lives, but the good news for Ottawa is that they can move past their last few losses and focus on a team that they have no problem with: the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It’s quite funny how the Oilers seem like the Tampa Bay Lightning on steroids, but the Senators somehow have a 4-3-0 record against the Leafs. The last matchup between these two saw Toronto win 3-2 in overtime in what is now known as the Dorion Gif Game:

Pierre Dorion and Kyle Dubas reacting to the Leafs' OT win #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/WUPyEgBdmp

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) March 26, 2021

Tonight is the 8th of 9 games between these two teams, with the next game coming on the final day of the season. The season is winding down surprisingly quickly, with just 15 games to go, and this is the last game before the trade deadline on Monday.

Will we see Senators moved between now and then? I bet at least one trade is made, but they won’t be nearly as active as previous season. There’s also a chance that Shane Pinto and Jacob Bernard-Docker play on Monday, or at the very least on Wednesday, so the team could look a bit different after tonight’s game.

Here are the Senators lines for today:

And here are the Maple Leafs lines:

Game Notes:

• Connor Brown is looking to break the Senators record for most games in a row with a goal, as he sits at 6 (which Drake Batherson tied earlier in the year). Suffice it to say, Brown breaking this record would be an extremely unlikely suspect.
• Jack Campbell is on a historic run, but the Sens Sickos might have something to say about that:/

No surprise, Jack Campbell was in the home net at optional Leafs skate & is projected starter tonight v Sens as he goes for an NHL record 11th straight win to start a season (tied with Carey Price 2016-17)

Still no sign of Frederik Andersen @TSN_Edge

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 10, 2021

• Clark Bishop cleared waivers today so he is still in the lineup, which was a nice bonus. This might be his last game before Pinto gets into the lineup though. Overall, Bishop has only put up 3 assists in 12 games but he has some of the best shot metrics on the team:/

the part about clark bishop's fancy stats being good is not a bit, btw pic.twitter.com/v5V1VTKGOB

— Luke Peristy (@Luke_H_Peristy) April 9, 2021

• Michael Amadio centres Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson again, which obviously isn’t ideal in the long run. However, Stützle had 6 shots last game, so it’s not as if that line was terrible.
• As much as I love Nick Paul, he has gone 24 games without a goal and if the team wants to succeed, he needs to be in a bottom-6 role. He’s not a scorer and he shouldn’t be expected to elevate Josh Norris and Brady Tkachuk.
• Erik Brännström stays in the lineup, which is great to see. I’m hoping he will play every game from here on out.
• Potential last games as Senators include Ryan Dzingel, Chris Tierney, Erik Gudbranson, and Mike Reilly (plus Braydon Coburn and Artem Anisimov who are scratched), although don’t expect more than one or two trades.
• The Maple Leafs have won five straight and eight of their last nine, so this might be their toughest battle against them this season./

Team Stats

Player Stats