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Stanley Cup Pre-Game Two Battle of Ontario |
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The Ottawa Senators are set for game two of their playoff battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Senators will be looking to even the series at 1-1. Fans can watch tonight’s game on Sportsnet or TVAS, or listen live via radio on TSN 1200 or Unique FM.
Tonight’s game will be all about bouncing back from Sunday night’s loss and applying the lessons learned. A key for the Senators will be managing the Maple Leafs’ power play while also making sure to stay out of the penalty box. The Senators recorded 38 penalty minutes to the Maple Leafs’ 18 in Sunday’s game, while Toronto capitalized on their chances and scored three power play goals.The Senators found strength in their five-on-five play, and despite the mismatch in penalties, they outshot the Maple Leafs 33-24 in Sunday’s game. There were many positives to be found despite the outcome, and if the Senators can build off of what they learned from their loss, tonight will be a strong battle.Special teams made the difference in Ottawa's 6-2 loss in Game 1 on Sunday, when Toronto went 3-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Goaltending isn’t the main reason the Toronto Maple Leafs have just one Stanley Cup Playoff series win in the past 21 years, but it’s been far too rare, if at all, when they could claim their goalie won them a postseason game, let alone a series. Berube is well-versed in goalies who answer the bell when it matters most. During his time as coach of the St. Louis Blues, it was Jordan Binnington who repeatedly came to the rescue during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2019, including a 32-save performance in a 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Cup Final at TD Garden in Boston.
Projected Lineups
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Bobby McMann -- Max Domi -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe -- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
Scratched: None
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Max Pacioretty (undisclosed), David Kampf (upper body)
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Nick Cousins -- Adam Gaudette -- Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson -- Nick Jensen
Thomas Chabot -- Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic, Matthew Highmore
Injured: Hayden Hodgson (lower body)
Players to Watch
Mitch Marner — the pending free agent had a strong game one and is looking to continue.
Ridly Greig — after a physical and pesky disturbance in game one, the young winger will be hungry for success.
Predicted Final Score
TOR — 3
OTT — 2
2OT
More to come…
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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