The Ontario rivalry shifts to Ottawa this Saturday night for the first time this season.
After a tough 4-3 overtime defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will make a brief stop in Ottawa to face off against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators are coming off a thrilling comeback victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night, led by some late-game heroics from Brady Tkachuk. Travis Green mentioned to reporters on Saturday morning that they would stick with the same lineup as that game, including starting goalie Linus Ullmark.
Green made some adjustments to the forward lines towards the end of Thursday’s game – something he frequently does when searching for a spark – but the same four lines that have been used for the last seven games practiced together during Saturday’s morning skate.
“I think during the game, going into the game sometimes I have in the back of my mind something I might try, or sometimes during the game just whoever’s going, I’ll make a change if we don’t like the look of something,” explained Green.
“But these lines have been good for a little while, I think it’s obvious that I’m not afraid to change, but we’ve played well with them.”
Meanwhile, the Sens are counting on their defensemen who’ve stepped up in place of Jake Sanderson and Nick Jensen.
Thomas Chabot logged 30:53 minutes on ice on Thursday as part of the top pair, marking his highest total in a regulation-ending game since November 23, 2021. Dennis Gilbert is gearing up for his fifth consecutive game since being called up from Belleville and has proven to be a solid partner for Nikolas Matinpalo on their third defensive pairing.
“We’re just trying to be really simple and efficient with the puck,” said Gilbert. “And then just really reliable and strong defensively, and physical. There’s a fine line in our system between being good defensively and running around chasing contact and stuff. So just trying to make sure that I’m underneath my guy, and communicating with my partner and my teammates on the ice.”
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