Game 2 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

After what can only be described as an interesting summer for both teams, the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs are set to do battle once again.

Following an off-season in which the Leafs made the biggest splash, signing superstar forward John Tavares in free agency, they opened the season Wednesday night with a 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. Ottawa, meanwhile, played their first game sans Erik Karlsson on Thursday night. They iced an impressive effort against the talented Chicago Blackhawks, but ultimately fell 4-3 in overtime.

Via Bruce Garrioch, Senators forwards Brady Tkachuk and Max McCormick will sit tonight due to injury, while defenceman Ben Harpur is once again a healthy scratch. Here are the lines and pairings for the Sens in Toronto tonight:

Morning lines:
Dzingel Duchene White
Boedker Smith Stone
Formenton Tierney Ryan
Pyatt Carey Paajarvi

Chabot DeMelo
Borowiecki Wideman
Lajoie Ceci

Anderson starts.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) October 6, 2018

Some notes on tonight’s contest:

• When speaking to the media following this morning’s skate, head coach Guy Boucher complimented Max Lajoie, saying he has deserved the extra ice time he’s been getting.
• Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00PMET and CBC will be carrying tonight’s game.
• In four games last year, the Sens and Leafs split the season series, both scoring 16 goals in the quartet of contests.
• After stopping 39/43 shots against Chicago on Thursday, Craig Anderson will need to be prepared for another high-powered offence that boasts the likes of Auston Matthews and John Tavares.
• Forward Paul Carey was recalled on Friday to replace the injured McCormick. The 30 year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 92 NHL games. This will be his first game with Ottawa.
• A link to Toronto’s lineup for this evening can be found here, for all you masochists out there./

The following are some stats from last year courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick:

Team Stats