Game 32: Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs
It's that time again. For the third time this season, the Ottawa Senators face off against their provincial rivals; the Sens have won the previous two meetings between the clubs. While the entire Ottawa Citizen Prediction Panel as voted for a Senators win, I wouldn't get so comfortable -- the Maple Leafs have been one of the hottest teams in the league for the past few weeks (7-3-0 in last 10), and have just finished crushing the Washington Capitals. The Sens will have to battle hard if they want to extend their two game winning streak. Who will I be watching?
- Alex Kovalev - most are predicting that Kovy will follow his hat-trick by being invisible for at least a few weeks, which is why I hope that he comes out tonight and notches a couple of points. He almost certainly won't, but a guy can dream, right?
- Erik Karlsson - he had a couple of good chances against Carolina, and I'm still waiting for this kid to finally pot himself a goal. Scoring against the Leafs would be a swell way to get his first.
- Ryan Shannon - the only other regular on the Senators' roster without a goal, lil' Ryan Shannon could certainly do with one tonight.
- Anton Volchenkov - Someone has to punish those Leafs with some big hits, and A-Train is just the guy. He'll also have his hands full shutting down...
- Phil Kessel - the most potent offensive threat on the Leafs, Kessel is pretty much guaranteed to create a scoring chance or two. Hopefully the Sens keep him off the scoresheet, though.
As always, come hang out in the comments before and after the puck drops for some fun. Let's go Sens!