We've got notes and quotes on Mark Stone and Derick Brassard's return, some cool backstory on Max McCormick's first goal of the season and more in today's Game Day 5.

1. Stone and Brassard are back

The Sens received not one, but two pieces of great news yesterday when head coach Guy Boucher confirmed that both Mark Stone and Derick Brassard would return to active duty today against the Maple Leafs. Brassard has missed the team's previous two games with an undisclosed injury but shared after the team's optional skate before traveling that he's ready to go against Toronto.
"It was just something that I have been dealing with for a little while," said Brassard. "I felt like I needed a couple of days to recover but now I feel better and I'm excited to try and help the team win."
Stone's absence has been much lengthier having missed the last 9 games after suffering a lower body injury on January 20th against the Maple Leafs. The Sens' leading scorer had anticipated a quicker return but there were some small setbacks in his recovery that delayed things.
"I thought I was going to be back right after All-Star Break," said Stone. "After my first skate, it really swelled up on me again so that set me back probably an extra week."
It's expected that Stone and Brassard will re-unite with Ryan Dzingel and reform what was a dynamic line for the Senators before it was lost to the pair's injuries but we'll have a better idea regarding line combos after the team's morning skate.
Instagram from @senators: Morning skate.

2. Hoffman on fire

That title kind of says it all. Mike Hoffman now has goals in 3 straight games and 7 points in his last 5 GP as the chemistry with linemates Matt Duchene and Colin White continues to grow. He played overtime hero on Thursday against the Predators by netting the deciding goal which also happened to be the 100th of his NHL career.
"It feels good to hit a milestone like that," said Hoffman about goal #100. "Obviously it's a little more special when it's the overtime winner so I guess it couldn't have happened at a better time."
After some chaos around the Senators' net in overtime, Hoffman turned on the jets and earned himself a partial break on Jusse Saros where the idea of using his "go to" move (The Forsberg aka The Hoffman) crossed his mind.
"That was the first thing that I thought of," Hoffman said with a smile. "Josi was on my tail pretty good so I don't think it would have been the right situation to do it."

3. A goal 6+ years in the making

Max McCormick's second period goal on Thursday was special and not just because it evened the score at 2-2 or because it was his first goal of the season. The tandem of McCormick and Ryan Dzingel go way back (and I mean way back) and the pair have been connected ever since being selected in the later rounds of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Senators.
"We've been playing together forever," McCormick shared. "We played on a line in the World Jr. A Challenge together, we played at college together, we've played in the preseason together, in Binghamton together and now here."
Add in several Development Camps and Rookie Camps and the duo have played a lot of hockey together but Thursday marked the first time that they've shared a line on an NHL scoresheet.
"We connected for his first college goal," said McCormick. 'I've been playing with him for a lot of years now so it was pretty cool to share that with him last night."

4. Previous meeting

These teams last met just three weeks ago in Ottawa where the Maple Leafs rallied in the third period to earn a 4-3 win at Canadian Tire Centre. Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman and Tom Pyatt each tallied second period goals against Toronto in defeat.
Full highlights from that game below...

5. Where to watch

It's a national game tonight in Toronto which means a 7 p.m. start and you can catch all the action on Sportsnet and TVAS.
Better yet, why not head out and watch the game with some friends? Hit up the
Glue Pot Pub
tonight on Queen St. where they'll be serving up tall boys of Molson Canadian for just $5.75. Seriously, that's a sweet deal.
Instagram from @senators: It's a #Sens game day! The boys are in Toronto set to face the Maple Leafs tonight at 7 p.m. #GoSensGo