See, the thing about preseason is it’s stupid and it doesn’t matter. Unless the Sens win tonight. Then it’s pretty clearly a sign of things to come.
The Ottawa Senators continue their preseason with a stop in Toronto to visit the Maple Leaves.
With only six games scheduled in the regular season tune-up and Camp moving to Quebec City later this week, this is going to be end of the line for a handful of guys. And while Ottawa isn’t exactly sending the A-team to Toronto, there are some things to keep an eye on tonight. Like Auston Matthews’ hairline, John Tavares’ bank statement and the whereabouts of Mitch Marner.
Also, Carter Yakemchuk, who is going to top pairing minutes skating alongside Jake Sanderson. A good chance for the kid to show how far he’s come since last year.
Up front, the third line Olle Lycksell, Stephen Halliday and Tyler Boucher are all looking to make an impression in the battle for a roster spot. All three are longshots obviously but if they want to hang around, they’ll need to find a way to stand out tonight.
And other than that, the focus of tonight’s contest is have some fun and please, PLEASE be careful. Tyler Kleven did not follow these instructions on Sunday and as a result, is dealing with some kind of injury. He didn’t skate with either group today but he’s fine. He’s FINE.
As you might expect, the Leafs are taking this game way too seriously because they don’t want to get booed by their own fans. Here’s how the Senators are expected to arrange themselves.
Kaliyev-Cozens-Zetterlund
Cousins-Pinto-Amadio
Lycksell-Halliday-Boucher
Bourgault-Pilon-Hodgson
Sanderson-Yakemchuk
Hamara-Zub
Sebrango-Matinpalo
Leevi Meriläinen gets the start.
Puck drop is at 7:08 PM and both TSN5 and TSN4 have the coverage.
