Game #58 Preview and Open Thread: Senators vs Maple Leafs

STOP THE PRESSES! THE LEAFS HAVE TRADED FOR A BACKUP GOALTENDER!!!

Indeed, with their recent acquisition of Jack Campbell from the Los Angeles Kings, thirty other NHL teams can begin to tank for Alexis Lafreniere, as the Toronto Maple Leafs have officially fixed every single one of their problems. Their defence, you say? It’s perfectly fine! They allowed only 19 shots on goal against the Dallas Stars on Thursday! Sure, they may have lost 3-2, but it was just an abnormally rough outing for Frederik Andersen. It had nothing to do with the fact that the goals were scored on a power play, and a pair of breakaways! Nothing. At. All.

Anyway...

After an inconsistent but overall decent effort against the Arizona Coyotes yielded a much-needed victory on Thursday, the Ottawa Senators host the Leafs tonight, with the hopes of making it two in a row. As fans, draft position should never be a factor in games like this one, where you have the chance to play spoiler against a division rival fighting for a playoff spot. It’s so satisfying to drag a team down with you into the draft lottery, especially since the team in question will practically be guaranteed an only decent draft pick. Exhibit A; The 2015-16 Boston Bruins.

Of course, Ottawa will only be able to win this game if they are near-flawless defensively, get great goaltending, take advantage of defensive miscues, and are blessed with some good old-fashioned dumb luck. Let’s cross our fingers and hope that in true Leafs’ fashion, they are their own worst enemy tonight.

Per TSN 1200, Scott Sabourin will draw into the lineup tonight, replacing Filip Chlapik, who was assigned to Belleville yesterday, while on the back end, Cody Goloubef will replace the injured Mark Borowiecki. Marcus Hogberg will start in goal.

Game Notes:

• Both teams ran into injury trouble in prior games; Borowiecki will be out for some time after injuring his ankle against the Coyotes, and the Leafs will be without forward Andreas Johnsson for eight weeks due to a knee injury he suffered against the Stars.
• I’m absolutely flabbergasted that the Senators sent Chlapik back to the minors...it should’ve been Colin White instead. Oh, come on, don’t be angry with me guys! I’m just itching to see a scrap between Sabourin and Kyle Clifford.
• The cold streak continues to get worse for Anthony Duclair. Now at nineteen consecutive games without a goal, Duclair also has been struggling to pick up assists lately, with just four in that stretch.
• Our new leading scorer? Connor Brown, who’s very quietly put up three goals and ten points in his last 12 games.
• On a team already loaded with superstars, Toronto has enjoyed a red-hot season from Zach Hyman, with 17 goals and 14 assists in just 39 games, albeit while shooting 21.8%.
• Time of the puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch the action on CBC, Sportsnet One, or the radio via TSN 1200./

Stats:

• All stats are from NHL.com, except Corsi% and xGF%; from NaturalStatTrick.com./

Player Stats

Team Stats