The best thing about preseason hockey is we get to watch multiple lineups play different teams throughout the preseason schedule, and that’s what we have tonight.
This time, the Toronto Maple Leafs will play host to the Ottawa Senators tonight at home at Scotiabank Arena with an entirely new lineup compared to the one the club used yesterday afternoon in their 3-2 loss.
The @MapleLeafs roster for tonight’s preseason game versus Ottawa at @ScotiabankArena. pic.twitter.com/fRaQ5tyYCI
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) September 25, 2023
The roster shown above on X by the Maple Leafs PR account shows an entirely new roster for tonight’s game, and we will be getting our first look at some new faces in a Toronto uniform.
According to David Alter of The Hockey News, these were the line rushes in practice this morning with still no John Tavares or TJ Brodie set to play…
Let’s do this again.#Leafs line rushes at morning skate Sept. 25/23
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner
Abruzzese-Holmberg-Robertson
Gregor-Kampf-Reaves
Blandisi-Cowan-Tverberg
O’BrienMcCabe-Klingberg
Giordano-Kokkinen
Rifai-Niemela
Brodie-PietronioWoll
Jones@BodogCA— David Alter (@dalter) September 25, 2023
Like yesterday’s roster, there is a mix of NHL and AHL players on both forward and defence, and we got to see some potential lines for the real games.
Today, we get to see the debut of the Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner line, as well as the Gregor-Kampf-Reaves line, which could very well end up being the Maple Leafs’ fourth line come opening night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Their second line tonight is a line that could be a sneaky fun line to watch with youngsters Abruzzese, Holmberg and Robertson. All three of them will want to make an impression during camp to try and earn a roster spot come opening night.
On defence, we’ll see the McCabe-Klingberg pairing in action, and it’ll most likely be their second pairing come opening night as well.
In goal, unlike yesterday, the Maple Leafs will be going with their second and third-string goalies Joseph Woll and Martin Jones between the pipes with Ilya Samsonov still having not played a game yet, but with a game Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, that’ll probably change.
Oponent’s lineup:
Projecting our lines for tonight’s rematch with Toronto!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/HvAfWhqn1L
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 25, 2023
Similar to their lineup yesterday, the Ottawa Senators will continue to go with a pretty even NHL/AHL split with their roster tonight.
Tarasenko, Batherson, Kubalik, Greig, Joseph, Chabot and Chychrun headline the Senators’ lineup, and the rest are depth/AHL guys.
In goal, they’ll go with Mads Sogaard and Leevi Merilainen
Players to watch:
It’s no secret that the players to watch, in my opinion, will be that first line for Toronto. After the departure of Michael Bunting and the acquisition of Tyler Bertuzzi, the Matthews and Marner line got a pretty nice upgrade for the left-wing spot this coming season.
Although it is the first preseason game for them this year, we shouldn’t expect them to be near perfect and dominate on the ice, but hey, you never know. After watching some clips from practice, it looks like Bertuzzi will fit nicely on that top line with these two.
Another player to watch will be John Klingberg. On a pairing with Jake McCabe and quarterbacking the first power-play unit, Klingberg will be looking to impress in his first game as a Maple Leaf. The 31-year-old isn’t known for being a good defender, so if he could make a good impression with his skating, puck handling and offensive awareness, it’ll be a good sign.
