Senators at Maple Leafs, Eastern Conference 1st Round Game 1 preview

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to welcome again a few key items to their lineup for Recreation 1 of the Japanese Convention First Spherical in opposition to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS), the primary postseason Battle of Ontario in 21 years.

Toronto coach Craig Berube revealed after the morning skate that defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be able to go after lacking the ultimate 4 video games of the common season with an undisclosed harm. The 33-year-old, who had 29 factors (4 objectives, 25 assists) in 77 video games this season, skated on the third pair alongside Simon Benoit throughout observe Saturday.

The Ekman-Larsson information got here in the future after defenseman Jake McCabe confirmed he additionally will likely be able to play. The 31-year-old, who missed the ultimate seven video games of the common season with an upper-body harm, had 23 factors (two objectives, 21 assists) in 66 video games and can play alongside Chris Tanev, his common protection companion.

This would be the first Stanley Cup Playoff assembly between the provincial rival Maple Leafs and Senators since 2004. The groups confronted one another 4 occasions in 5 seasons within the postseason from 2000-2004, with Toronto successful every of these sequence.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took a persist with the face throughout observe Saturday and needed to depart the ice however returned later within the session and is able to go for Recreation 1. This will likely be Tkachuk’s first playoff recreation in his seven NHL seasons.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Tkachuk mentioned after the morning skate. “All those times in the driveway with mini-sticks, you think about scoring the game-winner in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To finally be here is surreal.”

Ottawa is making its first playoff look in eight years; the earlier time got here in 2017 when it went to double additional time in opposition to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Recreation 7 of the Japanese Convention Remaining earlier than being eradicated on a Chris Kunitz series-ending purpose.

Here’s a breakdown of Recreation 1:

Senators: Ottawa received all three regular-season video games — 3-0 in Toronto on Nov. 12, 2-1 in Ottawa on Jan. 25 and 4-2 in Toronto on March 15. Holding the high-powered Maple Leafs offense led by forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares to 3 objectives in three video games reveals the kind of stingy protection coach Travis Inexperienced has instilled into his staff and can as soon as in opposition to be seeking to replicate on this sequence. The younger Senators have simply 298 postseason video games of expertise of their lineup in comparison with 779 for the Maple Leafs, in order that they’ll be seeking to veteran forwards David Perron (104) and Claude Giroux (98) for steering.

Maple Leafs: Goaltender Anthony Stolarz will likely be making his first profession begin in an NHL playoff recreation after serving because the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky throughout the Florida Panthers’ run to the Cup final season. The 31-year-old comes into the sequence on a roll, with shutouts in three of his previous 4 video games. With McCabe and Ekman-Larsson drawing again into the lineup, Toronto can return to the defensive pairings it usually used after the NHL Commerce Deadline on March 7: Brandon Carlo-Morgan Rielly, McCabe-Tanev and Benoit-Ekman-Larsson. Ahead Max Pacioretty, who has been out with an undisclosed harm since Feb. 8, is match to play however is predicted to be a wholesome scratch.

Numbers to know: It has been 7,670 days because the Maple Leafs and Senators confronted off in a playoff recreation — April 20, 2004 when Toronto defeated Ottawa 3-1 in Recreation 7 of their first-round sequence.

What to search for: No staff within the NHL drew extra penalties (349) than the Senators this season. Can the Maple Leafs preserve their composure and keep out of the penalty field, particularly with the feisty Tkachuk continuously making an attempt to get underneath their collective pores and skin?