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

The wait for hockey is over! The Senators start their six game preseason schedule against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5:30pm Eastern puck drop from the Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Yesterday, the Senators announced the roster that is making the trip to The Rock.

Roster update: The #Sens have released a 25-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s pre-season game against Toronto in St. John’s, N.L.

Mise à jour alignement : Les #Sens ont publié leur alignement de 25 joueurs en vue du match préparatoire de mardi contre Toronto à St. John’s (T.-N.-L.) pic.twitter.com/Xx1yP2xRtP

— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) September 16, 2019

Here’s what the lineups were this morning before they got on the plane, courtesy TSN1200.

No word on the goaltenders.

Game Notes

• Typical for the first preseason game, there’s not much NHL experience on that roster. Nine of the 25 participated in rookie camp
• None of the former Leafs players are on tonight’s roster either
• Erik Brannstrom probably will draw the most attention from Sens fans out of today’s lineup, and probably has a better chance to stick around given Wolanin’s injury
• Expect a bit more star power in tomorrow’s “rematch” in Ottawa (is it still a rematch when there probably won’t be any overlap in the rosters between the two games?)
• The Maple Leafs also announced their roster for today. Marner and Tavares are in the lineup, but no Matthews or Nylander
• Jason Spezza is the only former Senator in the Leafs lineup tonight, but it sounds like Babcock might not be too high on him. I like Spezza too much to take joy from this disconnect between Leafs management and coaching
• No stats summary because it’s the first game of preseason/