TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will attempt to take their first 2-0 lead in a Stanley Cup Playoff series in 23 years when they host the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET: CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN2).
Toronto has not won the first two games of a postseason series since doing so in the first round against the New York Islanders in 2002. The Maple Leafs went on to win that best-of-7 series in seven games.
Toronto defeated Ottawa 6-2 in Game 1 on Sunday but is braced for a pushback from the Senators.
“We’re going to have the same mindset as we did in Game 1,” Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev said after Toronto’s morning skate. “We’re focused on one game at a time.
“We’re not looking into the past or back at the past or looking into the future. We need to stay in the present and stay confident and be together and play our game.”
The lone lineup change for Toronto involves forward Pontus Holmberg, who replaced Max Domi on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander during practice Monday. Domi dropped down to the third line, where he’ll center Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson.
“Just a matchup thing,” coach Craig Berube said.
The Senators, meanwhile, will be faced with a number of game-time decisions.
Forward Ridly Greig and defenseman Nick Jensen did not participate in the morning skate. Afterward, Ottawa coach Travis Green said each should be available to play.
Green would not confirm if Nick Cousins would enter into the lineup after sitting out Game 1, but the forward spoke as if he'd be playing; he played the final two games of the regular season after missing the previous 30 because of knee surgery.
“I feel good,” Cousins said after the Senators morning skate. “I mean, I obviously want to come in and help the guys out and provide some energy and get a win at the end of the day.”
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series own an all-time series record of 353-56 (.863), including a 266-34 (.887) mark when starting at home.
Here is a breakdown of Game 2:
Senators: Missing morning skates has been a regular occurrence for Jensen during the regular season, but more often than not, he has played in the game that night. Greig, however, has been a regular participant in morning skates, so his absence adds to the intrigue. Ottawa is intent on having better discipline than they did in Game 1 when they took 15 penalties for a total of 38 minutes, compared to Toronto’s nine penalties and 18 minutes.
Maple Leafs: Goalie Anthony Stolarz was in the starter's net during the morning skate after getting a rest day Monday. Domi’s shift back to center on the third line is an attempt to ignite McMann’s offense and break his goal funk; he has gone 12 games without a goal (11 regular season, one playoff) since scoring in a 7-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 25.
Number to know: 6. Toronto's blocked shots margin in Game 1; the Maple Leafs had 18 blocks to the Senators' 12. Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe led all players in that category with four.
What to look for: Berube said the Maple Leafs must play better 5-on-5 than they did in Game 1. He specifically thought the Claude Giroux-Tim Stutzle-Brady Tkachuk line had far too many easy offensive zone entries, something he said Toronto needs to address. Will Toronto’s defensemen stand up at the blue line more and force the Stutzle line to dump pucks in deep?
