OTTAWA -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will attempt to complete their first four-game sweep of a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series in 24 years with a victory against the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TBS, truTV, MAX).
The last time the Maple Leafs were able to accomplish the feat was in 2001, when they swept the Senators in the first round. They will try to replicate that feat after winning the first three games in this series, the past two in overtime.
Finishing off the series, however, is another story for Toronto, which is 2-13 in potential series-winning games since 2004.
“I don’t think there’s a different approach,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said after the team’s morning skate when asked about the possibility of being able to eliminate the Senators. “Each individual needs to concentrate on every shift. [Ottawa] is going to push hard like they have every game.
“It’s no different for me tonight. We just have to focus on compete and puck battles like we have every game.”
The Senators are 8-16 (.333) in potential elimination games and 4-6 (.400) when playing at home, as they are Saturday. Ottawa is 2-3 all-time in Game 4s when facing a 3-0 series deficit.
For Senators coach Travis Green, the key is for his players to stay the course, even when facing the end of their season with a loss.
“Everyone has their own thought process, especially when you’re facing elimination,” Green said Saturday. “We try to give our team things to grasp onto and hang their hat on.
“But it comes down to what you’ve always done that really counts, so we’re not about to change our routine a whole lot.”
Here is a breakdown of Game 4:
Maple Leafs: Max Pacioretty is in line to play his second consecutive game after being out with an undisclosed injury since Feb. 8. The 36-year-old forward had a shot on goal and registered seven hits, tying with forward Bobby McMann for the team high, in 12:24 of ice time in a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 on Thursday. Berube said he was encouraged by what he saw from the veteran, who once again will be on the third line with McMann and Max Domi. Defenseman Morgan Rielly said one of the aspects the team would like to improve on is puck clearances out of the defensive zone, citing a need for quicker and more efficient puck movement.
Senators: Green was coy when asked about any potential lineup changes, saying to wait until the pregame skate to see if anything was tweaked. Perhaps Ottawa's biggest area of concern is their struggling penalty kill; the Maple Leafs have scored five times on nine opportunities in the series, yet another reminder the Senators need to stay out of the penalty box.
Number to know: 6:53. The total amount of time Ottawa has led through the first three games of this series.
What to look for: When Berube was coaching the St. Louis Blues to their Stanley Cup run in 2019, one of his fortes was to start his fourth line in postseason games in an attempt to have them set a physical tone. In Game 3 he did exactly that, sending out the Steven Lorentz—Scott Laughton-Calle Jarnkrok unit to start. Don’t be surprised if he does it again.
