The Battle of Ontario continues on Tuesday, April 22, with the Ottawa Senators taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their playoff series. Toronto settled quite a few fans’ jitters with a thumping 6-2 win in the series opener. Analysts pointed to a lack of playoff experience as one of the prime causes for the Senators’ defeat, with Ottawa outshooting Toronto 56-30 on the night, including going 30-13 during the 5-on-5 game.
However, the Senators’ failure to convert chances into goals was their downfall. Sunday’s game was also the first time the Maple Leafs scored three power-play goals in a playoff game since Game 1 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals.
Projected Lineups for Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa’s players and coaches all agree that their special teams must do better for the rest of the series. The Maple Leafs went 3-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill in Game 1.
“I thought we played well 5-on-5,” Senators coach Travis Green said via NHL.com. “Slot-driving plays, I think we dominated in that area, but they’re going to play better, we’re going to have to play better. That’s the way playoff hockey is, but we’re going to have to stay out of the box.”
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube lauded his team’s performance, especially their special teams.
“The power play has been rolling for a while,” Berube said via NHL.com. “They’re doing a good job. For me, it’s about getting pucks to the net with numbers at the net. I can’t say enough about [John] Tavares and Matthew Knies in those areas, they’ve done an extremely good job at all their work in the interior of the ice.”
The Maple Leafs are looking to advance to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time since 2004. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, April 22 (7:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN2).
Senators Projected Lineup
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
David Perron — Dylan Cozens — Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Matthew Highmore – Adam Gaudette – Fabian Zetterlund
Defensemen
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Nikolas Matinpalo
Goaltenders
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched
Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic
Injured
Hayden Hodgson (lower body)
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Pontus Holmberg-John Tavares-William Nylander
Bobby McMann-Max Domi-Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz-Scott Laughton-Calle Jarnkrok
Defensemen
Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Goaltenders
Anthony Stolarz (projected starter)
Joseph Woll