Preseason Game 1 Preview and Open Thread: Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
The Senators kick off their preseason in St. John’s against the Leafs
The wait for hockey is over! The Senators start their six game preseason schedule against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5:30pm Eastern puck drop from the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Yesterday, the Senators announced the roster that is making the trip to The Rock.
Roster update: The #Sens have released a 25-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s pre-season game against Toronto in St. John’s, N.L.
— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) September 16, 2019
Mise à jour alignement : Les #Sens ont publié leur alignement de 25 joueurs en vue du match préparatoire de mardi contre Toronto à St. John’s (T.-N.-L.) pic.twitter.com/Xx1yP2xRtP
Here’s what the lineups were this morning before they got on the plane, courtesy TSN1200.
Balcers - Tierney - Rodewald
Abramov - Norris - Formenton
Kelly - Beaudin - Scherwey
Brannstron - DeMelo
Englund - Goloubef
Lajoie - Ebert
No word on the goaltenders.
Game Notes
- Typical for the first preseason game, there’s not much NHL experience on that roster. Nine of the 25 participated in rookie camp
- None of the former Leafs players are on tonight’s roster either
- Erik Brannstrom probably will draw the most attention from Sens fans out of today’s lineup, and probably has a better chance to stick around given Wolanin’s injury
- Expect a bit more star power in tomorrow’s “rematch” in Ottawa (is it still a rematch when there probably won’t be any overlap in the rosters between the two games?)
- The Maple Leafs also announced their roster for today. Marner and Tavares are in the lineup, but no Matthews or Nylander
- Jason Spezza is the only former Senator in the Leafs lineup tonight, but it sounds like Babcock might not be too high on him. I like Spezza too much to take joy from this disconnect between Leafs management and coaching
- No stats summary because it’s the first game of preseason/