Senators seek strong finish against struggling Maple Leafs

March 21 - The Ottawa Senators will hope to jumpstart their playoff hopes when they host the reeling Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Embroiled in an ultra-competitive Atlantic Division, the Senators (35-24-9, 79 points) have a tall task ahead of them as they aim to get a ​leg up with the season dwindling down. A strong end to the season could clinch them their first ‌consecutive playoff berths since 2011-12 and 2012-13. "High pressure moments and big games are what's fun," goaltender James Reimer said after a statement win against the New York Islanders on Thursday. "That's what you dream of when you're seven years old playing street hockey, you know, you dream of Game 7 in the finals." It ​was captain Brady Tkachuk who scored with 11.1 seconds remaining in regulation, pouncing on a rebound to flip the puck ​over a sprawling Ilya Sorokin to seal a 3-2 victory for the home team. Tkachuk appeared revitalized after ⁠a dismal showing the night before in Washington in which he failed to register even a single hit. He opted to change ​that on Thursday, dropping the gloves with Islanders captain Anders Lee off the opening draw. "I felt like I wasn't great last night in ​a big game, and I just know I needed to be a lot better today to help this team," Tkachuk said. Trade deadline acquisitions in Warren Foegele and Jordan Spence also aided Ottawa's third-period comeback. Foegele tied the game early in the final frame while Spence floated the point shot on net ​that led to Tkachuk's winner. The Senators averted what would have been their first consecutive losses in nearly two months. They will want ​to seize the opportunity to claim both points against the hobbled Maple Leafs (29-28-13, 71 points), who have been in abominable form since returning from the ‌Olympic break. ⁠Toronto heads to Ottawa for the second game of a back-to-back after dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin ended that game just 41 seconds into overtime with a wrist shot from the face-off circle that sailed past goaltender Joseph Woll. The Leafs have dropped 11 of 13 games since the Olympics and have been outshot in all but one of ​those contests. "We've got to shoot more. ​We didn't shoot enough. And ⁠there's more opportunities to get more shots on net," head coach Craig Berube said after the game. "The first goal is a great example of just a nothing shot. It's a rebound. You put ​it in, right? It's just that mindset of getting more pucks to the net." The shot in ​question came off the ⁠stick of Bo Groulx before Dakota Joshua slapped in a rebound to open the scoring. Groulx has been a rare bright spot in the Leafs' bottom six since he was called up from the minors earlier this month. The assist made it five points in six games ⁠for the ​26-year-old center who has not seen NHL action since the 2023-24 season. "They've been ​good," Berube said of his makeshift third line of Groulx, Joshua and Mattias Maccelli, whom he gave the game's opening shift. "I thought Groulx had another strong game." The two ​teams met at the end of February, where Ottawa prevailed 5-2. The Senators have won three of their last four games. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab