The rolling Ottawa Senators hope to record a fifth straight victory when they host the rival Toronto Maple Leafs in Tonight clash at Canadian Tire Centre.
Toronto has dominated the Battle of Ontario in recent years – they won the season series 3-1 last year and 4-1 in 2013-2014 – and another win tonight over the Senators would help the Leafs (3-3-1) inch above the .500 mark for the first time this season. Ottawa (4-1-0), however, have enjoyed a strong start to the season so it won’t be a cakewalk for the Leafs by any stretch of the imagination
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Coming into this season, the Senators had to deal with their own drama, as former captain Jason Spezza requested a trade. Under new captain Erik Karlsson and star forward Bobby Ryan, the Senators have started the season 4-1, including a four-game winning streak entering tonight. The Leafs are coming off a win against the New York Islanders last night, but they will to be ready for another tough test against their divisional rival.
Both Toronto and Ottawa suffered from poor defensive play last season. So far, the Senators have cut down their goals against to start the season, allowing 10 goals through fiver games. (They allowed 16 goals in five games to start last season.)
It looks like Reimer will get the start in Ottawa, after Bernier got the win on Long Island. Reimer will look to bounce back from a 4-1 loss to Detroit, in a building that he knows all too well.
Who gets the start: Jonathan Bernier or James Reimer?
Jonathan Bernier (John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
This might sound like an odd question – the start would normally go to the other goalie in back-to-back games and Jonathan Bernier started last night – but Bernier’s coming off a pair of strong starts. That could be enough to give him the edge over James Reimer, who’s dominated the Senators throughout his young career (he’s 7-1 lifetime against them).
On the other hand, the Leafs might want to give Reimer another shot after he stumbled at home last week against the Detroit Red Wings, losing 5-2. Prior to this, Reimer had won two straight games for the Leafs – their first two wins of the season – and helped Toronto move past Bernier’s shaky start to the season.
As mentioned, Bernier has now put up two solid starts of his own and the Leafs might want to ride the hot glove. Part of this decision will certainly rest on who the Leafs really think gives them the best chance to win over the long term. They can’t kept alternating between both goalies all season.
Can the top line stay hot?
Phil Kessel (Tom Turk/The Hockey Writers)
After getting silenced by the Red Wings across two games last week, the top line of Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak exploded for six points (three goals, three assists) last night at the Islanders’ expense. It’d be great to see this level of production continue tonight.
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As I wrote earlier today, the Leafs’ early season success is highly dependent on the offensive output of their first line. The second line hasn’t been able to pick up the slack when the first line stumbles and while the third line of David Clarkson, Leo Komarov and Mike Santorelli has exceeded everyone’s expectations so far, they’re no replacement for the top line.
The Leafs need Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Bozak to score. It’s that simple.
Leafs Injury Report
David Booth out with Broken Foot
Brandon Kozun out with a high ankle sprain
Senators Injury Report
None
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