SENATORS (30-19-6) at MAPLE LEAFS (26-19-11)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports, NHL.TV
Senators team scope
Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot is expected to return after missing the Senators 3-0 win at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday because of illness. Forward Bobby Ryan did not attend the morning skate Saturday because of the flu and will be a game-time decision. Goaltender Craig Anderson will start; he's 1-1-0 since returning to Ottawa, following a leave of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was having treatments for cancer. Anderson allowed three goals on 25 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. "I want to get in there and earn my ice time. I want to make sure physically I'm ready and mentally I'm ready," Anderson said. "At the end of the day, I earn my ice time. If I go in there and play well and instill confidence in the team with the coaches, I'll play more. But if I still have a little hesitation or I'm not playing the way I need to be playing, I'll have to keep working on it in practice to get the confidence back and earn the trust of my teammates." The Senators lead the Boston Bruins by two points for second place in the Atlantic Division, and lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points. Ottawa is 3-1 in its past four games and 5-2-0 in its past seven road games. The Senators approach will not be affected by Maple Leafs rookie forward Mitchell Marner's upper-body injury, which will keep him out through the weekend, according to coach Guy Boucher. "First of all, we're focusing on ourselves," Boucher said. "We're aware of their strengths and what we have to do against them, but we don't have the last matchup here."
Maple Leafs team scope
Marner will miss the Maple Leafs' next two games because of an upper-body injury sustained on Wednesday in a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. "So because he can't go today, that means for sure he won't go tomorrow so we'll deal with him next week," coach Mike Babcock said. "I think we have a day off [Monday] and play the next day [against the Winnipeg Jets] so he'll have a chance for that opportunity." Babcock said he hopes increased ice time for forward Josh Leivo will help in Marner's absence. "If Leivo hadn't played these last few games, you wouldn't be thinking the same thing, but Leivo played so well, it's an opportunity for him." Leivo had played in two of Toronto's first 52 games but has played in four straight with five points (one goal, four assists) in his past two games. "Getting that first goal out of the way against the [New York] Islanders on Tuesday was good and getting that [7-1] win too," Leivo said. "You feel great when you get a win." Toronto, 1-0-2 against the Senators this season, leads the Islanders by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Goaltender Frederik Andersen will start after backing up Curtis McElhinney in a 5-2 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
Senators projected lineup
Ryan Dzingel -- Derick Brassard -- Mark Stone
Mike Hoffman -- Kyle Turris -- Zack Smith
Tom Pyatt -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Bobby Ryan
Tommy Wingels -- Chris Kelly -- Chris Neil
Marc Methot -- Erik Karlsson
Mark Borowiecki -- Chris Wideman
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Curtis Lazar, Fredrik Claesson
Injured: Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
Maple Leafs projected lineup
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Connor Brown
Leo Komarov -- Nazem Kadri -- Josh Leivo
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Matt Martin -- Ben Smith -- Nikita Soshnikov
Morgan Rielly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Martin Marincin, Alexey Marchenko
Injured: Mitchell Marner (upper body)
Status Report
Neil will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Thursday. ... Soshnikov will return to the lineup for his first game since the Maple Leafs' 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 7. He missed three games because of an upper-body injury and was a healthy scratch against the Blue Jackets.
Who's hot
Karlsson has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Kadri has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 13 games. … Nylander (five goals, two assists) and Matthews (four goals, three assists) each has seven points in his past seven games.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html
No comments:
Post a Comment