Toronto @ Ottawa preview
Canadian Tire Centre
Last Meeting ( Nov 8, 2023 ) Ottawa 6, Toronto 3
The Ottawa Senators bring big momentum from their most impressive win of the season into their game against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
The Senators defeated the New York Rangers 6-2 on Tuesday night, representing what might be Ottawa's most complete game early on.
"Offensively, for sure," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "There was a stretch in the second period where we were racing around. As a team that's trying to be good every day, you can't have those little lapses."
It was the second consecutive win for the Senators following a three-game losing streak. Smith was impressed by the performance against a top-quality opponent.
"Right now that's the best team in the National Hockey League," Smith said of New York. "Offensively, we held onto a lot of pucks. We did some really good things defensively as well. It was really good to kill that five-on-three and get a bit of confidence. That's nine good periods in a row for us; we're starting to have a bit of consistency."
Toronto is coming off a 4-3 overtime home loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The Maple Leafs will start Joseph Woll in goal on Thursday with Ilya Samsonov (illness) listed as day-to-day. Martin Jones was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and could back up Woll. Jones was the backup on Saturday.
The Senators complete a three-game homestand on Thursday. After losing 4-2 on the road to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, Ottawa returned home to defeat the Seattle Kraken 2-0 on Saturday ahead of the big Rangers win.
"I thought we played really well against Columbus and didn't get the result," Smith said. "Sometimes you're losing when you're winning. We played well against Seattle."
Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot (lower body) did not play Tuesday and is not expected to play Thursday. After suffering a broken hand on Oct. 26 against the New York Islanders, Chabot missed 10 games, and returned last Friday against Columbus. Chabot then left the game Saturday in the second period. He returned to finish the contest, but after feeling discomfort on Monday, Chabot went and got an MRI.
"It's unfortunate," Smith said. "But there's nothing you can do about it. He breaks the puck out, he does so many things well. Our O-zone time has crept its way up."
The Maple Leafs have gone to overtime or a shootout in five of their past six games, winning three. Before losing to Boston, they won their two previous home games in shootouts. Toronto forced overtime against Boston when Auston Matthews scored with six seconds left in the third period.
"I do think it's a good spot to get used to," Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "Down one or tied in the third period is not a comfortable feeling, but the more you're exposed to it, the better. Ultimately, we want to keep growing our game (and winning in regulation). We have a calm bench and in those instances, we trust our structure and each other so we can just go out and play."
--Field Level Media