Ottawa Senators Boast Near Complete Lineup Tonight Versus Toronto

The Senators will be icing a roster that should be very similar to the one they will use on October 14th

Due to recent moves over the past few days, the Ottawa Senators roster is nearly complete and it should resemble the lineup that will start the season at the home opener versus the same Toronto Maple Leafs. The Senators have recorded a 2-2-0 record in 4 games, while the Maple Leafs have won 2 of the 3 games they’ve played up to this point.

Lineup

Forwards

After a trial run on the second line with Tim Stützle and Connor Brown, Chris Tierney will be pulled from the lineup in favour of 20-year-old Shane Pinto who’s looked much better than his veteran counterpart for the majority of camp. The trio of Formenton-Norris-Batherson once again forms the top line, each player on that line had at least 3 points in Friday nights 7-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens. Alex Formenton’s speed creates space for Norris and Batherson to operate, if this line continues its strong play they may have to remain together, even if Tkachuk does return.

Starting as the third line for the Senators tonight, Sanford-White-Ennis appears to be getting a look as the team’s third line, they have a nice combination of size and skill could work well together. If everything remains status quo until the regular season you should expect to see Chris Tierney in the fourth-line centre role instead of Agozzino, assuming Tierney loses the battle for the second-line centre position.

Defence

The top pairing of Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub were very good in their first game action on Friday night. Chabot was arguably the best player on the ice in his first game of the season, adding 2 assists, 5 shots, a +5 rating, and 19:57 minutes of ice-time. Zub played with a physical edge and proved why he has been promoted to being Chabot’s new partner, his reliable defensive play was on full display, the Russian defender had 1 assist, a +3 rating, 3 hits in 19:59 minutes of ice-time. With Zaitsev out of the lineup for this game, Nick Holden will start on the second pairing alongside Michael Del Zotto. It appears the Senators are still confident with Del Zotto-Zaitsev and Holden is likely a fill-in for today’s game and he likely starts the season in that role as the 7th defenceman. The bottom-pair of Victor Mete and Josh Brown created some great chemistry at the end of last season and they appear to be carrying that momentum through training camp, they’re the most likely combination for opening night.

Goalies

Matt Murray is expected to start and play the entirety of tonight’s game. The 27-year-old, two-time Stanley Cup Champion made his first appearance of the season on Friday, where he turned in a solid performance, stopping 25/27 shots directed his way. Anton Forsberg is expected to backup, expect the Senators to run with this goaltending duo to start the season.