Game 1 Preview and Open Thread: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Well, here we are. It’s the start of another season, and it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with Ottawa Senators hockey. Tonnes of digital ink have been spilled this offseason over how bad Ottawa will be this year, but it’s unimportant right now. Tonight, the Ottawa Senators take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, so we’ll all be hoping for an embarrassing win for Ottawa. The Sens have managed to get under Toronto’s skin in recent years, and let’s hope tonight is no exception.

We know via Bruce Garrioch that Craig Anderson is tonight’s starter. From yesterday’s lines, it looks like one of Filip Chlapik or Mikkel Boedker is the odd forward out, with Cody Goloubef the healthy scratch on defence. Lines will be updated after the morning skate, but here are yesterday’s practice lines:

(UPDATE: Boedker and Goloubef are the scratches.)

Details

Start: 7:00 PM EST
TV: SN, SN360, TVA
Radio: TSN1200

Thoughts

• That top line is going to be awful to play against. I’m really looking forward to watching Connor Brown and Brady Tkachuk work together to piss off everybody
• I did wonder if Nikita Zaitsev or Ron Hainsey was going to get first crack at being Thomas Chabot’s partner. We’ll see if Chabot-Zaitsev even stays consistent for the first game
• I think Artem Anisimov surprised us all in preseason by proving he’s actually not washed quite yet. Let’s see what he brings to the table now that the season is on.
• I’m curious how those second/third lines go down. I’m wondering if maybe Chris Tierney should be the more defensive option and get Tyler Ennis on his wing, while Anisimov could be a good complement to Anthony Duclair
• Interesting to see Craig Anderson get the start. He’s definitely earned that honour in what could be his last season, but I do expect Anders Nilsson will take more of the starts as the season goes on
• Will Cody Ceci or Jason Spezza be the first ex-Senator with an embarrassing gaffe against their old team? (UPDATE: Looks like Spezza is a healthy scratch tonight)
• I predict a 5-2 Ottawa win, and then no more Sens wins until November./

Stats (from last season)

All stats from NHL.com, except Corsi/Fenwick from NaturalStatTrick.com

Player Stats

Team Stats