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# Leafs vs. Senators Preview: It’s Frederik Andersen time!
- URL: https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/toronto-maple-leafs-vs-ottawa-senators-preview-its-frederik-andersen-time/
- Published: 2021-05-12T14:41:31.000Z
- Updated: 2021-05-12T14:41:31.000Z
- Description: For the first time in a while, Freddie gets the starter’s net
- Author: Omar White
- Tags: Game Coverage, #chorus, #Import 2023-04-05 11:15

When it comes to the regular season, the Leafs have it all. They’ve clinched a playoff spot and the division, and these two remaining games are basically meaningless in the grand scheme of things now that it’s confirmed the Habs are the enemy in the first round. However, there are still some things to iron out, and one of those things is Frederik Andersen, who is getting his first NHL start on March 19th.

The Calgary Flames walked away with the win that night as Freddie allowed 4 goals on 14 shots bringing his season save percentage to .897\. That put a pause on his season due to some kind of lower-body injury making way for the rise of Jack Campbell and the accolades he’s stacked up since.

This game may be unfair to Freddie, but it’s still important. This is where you find out where he’s at in every aspect of the position and whether Sheldon Keefe feels he can play him in a playoff game when the time comes or if he runs with Campbell through-and-through. Andersen’s one-and-a-half-game stint with the Marlies was his first game in months but didn’t do too much in the perceptive confidence department. Tonight’s game can fix that.

Aside from the Andersen angle, the Leafs are coming off back-to-back wins against the Habs, which feels great considering the next set of challenges. The goal for tonight should be simple: play how you’ve played and don’t do anything reckless.

### Game 55: [**Toronto Maple Leafs**](https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/) **vs Ottawa Senators**

**Date:** Wednesday, May 12th, 2021  
**Time:** 8:00 PM EST  
**Place:** Canadian Tire Centre  
**Channel:** Sportsnet, TVAS2

(ugh 8:00 PM...)

## Toronto Maple Leafs

**Forwards**

Alex Galchenyuk - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner  
Nick Foligno - John Tavares - William Nylander  
Pierre Engvall - Alex Kerfoot - Ilya Mikheyev  
Joe Thornton - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds

**Defence**

Morgan Rielly - T.J. Brodie  
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl  
Ben Hutton - Travis Dermott

**Goaltenders**

Frederik Andersen  
Jack Campbell

Keefe was experimenting with some playoff lines in yesterday’s practice that were far different from those we are most likely to see tonight. Nick Foligno is confirmed to return to the lineup and if the plan is to play him on the second line during the playoffs, there’s no better time than now to try it out.

> [#Leafs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com) lines at practice:  
>  
> Hyman-Matthews-Marner  
> Foligno-Tavares-Nylander  
> Kerfoot-Nash-Mikheyev   
> Thornton-Spezza-Simmonds   
>  
> Rielly-Brodie   
> Muzzin-Holl  
> Hutton-Dermott  
> Sandin-Hollowell  
>  
> Andersen  
> Campbell   
>  
> Extras: Galchenyuk, Engvall
> 
> — Kristen Shilton (@kristen\_shilton) [May 11, 2021](https://twitter.com/kristen%5Fshilton/status/1392154292820316168?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com)

Although Riley Nash and Zach Hyman were all in regular practice sweaters, Keefe stated it didn’t confirm their participation in the season's final two games. Additionally, and this comes via [Capfriendly](https://twitter.com/CapFriendly/status/1392282994031931397?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com), for the Leafs to activate Andersen off of LTIR, not only did Rasmus Sandin have to go to the taxi squad, but Liljegren, Noesen and Hutchinson were sent to the Marlies, Hyman had to be placed on retroactive LTIR.

The salary cap is beautiful, isn’t it?

## Ottawa Senators

The Senators have been on the winning side of the puck for the last little while, taking 9 of 13\. It makes you wonder whether they could’ve passed the Habs if there were more games in the schedule. On the other hand, they’re coming off a fairly lopsided match against the Calgary Flames, scoring only one goal to their six.

If you’re D.J. Smith, it’s all about building for the future, and there is a growing core that has gelled well together this season. And Victor Mete is on the top pair!

**Forwards**

Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Drake Batherson  
Tim Stützle - Shane Pinto - Connor Brown  
Nick Paul - Artem Anisimov - Evgenii Dadonov  
Alex Formenton - Logan Brown - Parker Kelly

**Defence**

Victor Mete - Nikita Zaitsev  
Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub  
Olle Alsing - Jacob Bernard-Docker

**Goaltenders**

Filip Gustavsson  
Anton Forsberg

(lines and pairings per T[SN 1200](https://twitter.com/TSN1200/status/1392480774998433793?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com))

The Senators always play the Leafs like its Game 7 Double OT of the Stanley Cup Final, so by no means will this be easy even though it “should” be. That said, the last time these two teams met, 13 goals were scored in total, including the Auston Matthews hat-trick, which doesn’t really scream “defence playoff hockey.”

> AUSTON MATTHEWS 🚨 HATTY  
>  
> 334TH HAT-TRICK IN LEAFS HISTORY! [pic.twitter.com/ejXKau2bOC](https://t.co/ejXKau2bOC?ref=pensionplanpuppets.com)
> 
> — Omar (@TicTacTOmar) [April 11, 2021](https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1381044906043568131?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=pensionplanpuppets.com)

The Leafs will skate into that game trying to leave as healthy as possible while the Sens will try to send a message for next season.

One thing that has been reassuring about the Leafs as of late is they’re finding ways to win despite having a poor start to the game. That will be important for Andersen, who may need some extra goal support if he can’t settle in as quickly as he’d like. And if he gets completely shelled, I’m sure we’ll all handle it calmly and in an appropriate matter.