Maple Leafs at Senators preview

MAPLE LEAFS (45-25-7) at SENATORS (27-44-6)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, SNO, TVAS2, NHL.TV

The Maple Leafs, six points behind the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division, can also clinch if the Montreal Canadiens lose in any fashion against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Defenseman Travis Dermott is expected to return to the Toronto lineup after missing 14 games with a shoulder injury.
Goalie Garret Sparks will start for the Maple Leafs, who are 3-4-2 in their past nine games after going 6-1-1 in their previous eight.
Goalie Craig Anderson will start for the Senators, who are 4-3-0 in their past seven games after going 1-10-1 in their previous 12. Ottawa has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center John Tavares has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past four games and 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in his past 13.
Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"Making sure we're playing a full 60 minutes, not getting away from our game. Whether we're up or down, we're playing the same way and just coming in waves and waves. I think that's probably the biggest thing for us heading into this last week, just finding that consistency and playing a full 60 minutes."-- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews
"I don't want to speak for everyone, but it's always fun playing against a rival, whether it's Montreal or Toronto. … The other team has more jerseys in the stands than we do. That's just more incentive for us to win the game." -- Senators center Zack Smith

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Kasperi Kapanen
Tyler Ennis -- Frederik Gauthier -- Connor Brown
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Muzzin -- Nikita Zaitsev
Martin Marincin -- Travis Dermott
Garret Sparks
Frederik Andersen
Scratched:Trevor Moore , Nic Petan, Justin Holl, Igor Ozhiganov
Injured:Jake Gardiner (back)

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Max Veronneau
Anthony Duclair -- Chris Tierney -- Mikkel Boedker
Rudolfs Balcers -- Colin White -- Bobby Ryan
Brian Gibbons -- Zack Smith -- Magnus Paajarvi
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Christian Wolanin -- Cody Ceci
Ben Harpur -- Christian Jaros
Craig Anderson
Anders Nilsson
Scratched: Oscar Lindberg
Injured: Mark Borowiecki (upper body)

Status report

The Maple Leafs will recall defenseman Calle Rosen from Toronto of the American Hockey League in time to play at the New York Islanders on Monday. … Smith, who has missed three games with a back injury, will be a game-time decision.

Stat pack

Marleau will play his 1,653rd NHL game and pass Mark Recchi for sole possession of fifth place on the League all-time list. … The Maple Leafs can tie their record for road wins in a season (23 in 2003-04).