Game Day Notes: Sens @ Maple Leafs

It's the first road game of the season for the Sens and they'll have a few small roster adjustments tonight against the Maple Leafs. Here's everything we know about the Sens line-up (and a few other things) before puck drop in Toronto.

Lajoie Aftermath

After making a memorable debut on Thursday, Max Lajoie got to experience the effects of being in the NHL spotlight.
"My phone blew up after the game," joked Lajoie. "A lot of people reached out to me which was awesome but I was lucky enough to have my family and friends at the game so we all went out for dinner and enjoyed the night."

As a result of their son's impressive first game, Sylvie and Michel Lajoie, also ended up front and centre on Thursday night.
"They do so much for me so to have them here was awesome," Lajoie said. "I'm really lucky to have such great parents in my life so it was cool to have them with me for my first NHL game."

Debuts

With Lajoie's debut a success and Brady Tkachuk's first game on the horizon (he's been ruled out for tonight, more on that later), I chatted with Mark Borowiecki about how a player's NHL debut can affect the other guys in the locker room. Borowiecki was noticeably playful with Lajoie on game day and during warm-up but it actually had more to do than just being excited for his teammate.
"It's on us to make sure that they stay loose so they go into their first game with some confidence," said Borowiecki. "One of the biggest battles a young player can have is squeezing their stick too tight and playing not to make mistakes. It's our jobs as veterans to keep them relaxed and ready to play."
Borowiecki admitted that it was easy to get excited for these recent debuts since Lajoie and the soon-to-debut Tkachuk, as well as other recent NHLers like Thomas Chabot, Colin White and Alex Formenton, are so well liked and respected among their teammates.
But excitement isn't the only feeling that these NHL debuts conjure up for Borowiecki who played his National Hockey League game back in January of 2011.
"It makes me feel really old," Borowiecki said with his trademark grin. "My first game in San Jose feels like a long time ago but I still remember it pretty clearly. We've all experienced those same feelings and emotions and, while I don't think my first game went quite as well as Max's did, we realize how special it is."

Up front

Speaking of debuts, Tkachuk's will have to wait a little longer. The Sens first round pick in 2018 made the trip to Toronto but isn't quite ready to find his way into the line-up after suffering a mild groin injury during training camp.
"Watching the home opener the other day, it's really starting to burn inside me," Tkachuk said about the anticipation towards his first NHL game. "I still have to wait for the go ahead to play and feel at 100% but I've felt really good the past few days so I'm excited and I'm definitely itching to get out there."
The Sens will also be without Max McCormick who suffered a lower body injury in Thursday's home opener. As a result, Paul Carey has been called up from Belleville and will draw into the line-up tonight in Toronto.
Here's a look at the Sens projected forward lines against the Maple Leafs:
Dzingel - Duchene - White
Boedker - Smith - Stone
Formenton - Tierney - Ryan
Pyatt - Carey - Paajarvi

On Defence

The Sens will deploy the same defencemen tonight as they did on Thursday but the pairings were shuffled around a little during today's morning skate. With Toronto possessing the last change, Sens head coach Guy Boucher is looking to balance his pairings to help deal with the Maple Leafs depth down the middle.
"We need to try different things," said Boucher. "Being on the road is where our weaknesses can be exposed so we're trying to find pairings that will help us buy time until everyone has gotten enough experience to be able to defend against anybody."

Here's the projected defence pairings against the Maple Leafs:
Lajoie - Ceci
Chabot - DeMelo
Borowiecki - Wideman

In Goal

Craig Anderson (0-0-1) is expected to make his second consecutive start of the season tonight. Anderson was busy against the Blackhawks on Thursday turning aside 39 of the 43 shots he faced before dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime.
The Sens starter has historically been very good against Toronto and sports a 15-7-3 in 27 career starts against the Maple Leafs.

Where to Watch

It's a 7 p.m. start time in Toronto tonight and if you're in need of a spot to catch the game, then look no further. Grab some buddies and hit up Hometown Sports because they'll be serving up $7 tall cans of Molson Canadian during the game.
You can also catch all the action live on CBC along with on the radio with Dean Brown and Gord Wilson on TSN 1200.