Pre-game notes: Sens vs. Maple Leafs

It's a matinee in Laval as the Sens prospects look to build off their 4-0 victory over the Canadiens last night when they take on the Maple Leafs prospects at 3 p.m. Belleville Senators head coach Troy Mann confirmed some line-up changes for this afternoon's contest which will see a few of the more veteran players at Rookie Camp acting as the extras against Toronto.

Up front

Both Colin White and Filip Chlapik will be inactive today which will cause a bit of a shake up to last night's top 6. Brady Tkachuk, fresh off a 2 goal performance against Montreal, is expected to skate alongside Drake Batherson and Logan Brown on the top like while Alex Formenton will be paired with Aaron Luchuk and Andrew Sturtz.

"I'm a big fan of Batherson from my short time with him," said Mann about his thought process on putting his lines together. "I also like Brown's playmaking ability and we saw last night how Tkachuk is going to play the game so I thought they be a natural fit together."
Ryan Scarfo and Boston Leier, both healthy scratches last night, are set to replace White and Chlapik up front for the Sens rookies against the Maple Leafs.
Here's a look at the forward lines today in Laval:
Tkachuk - Brown - Batherson
Formenton - Luchuk - Sturtz
Burzan - Scarfo - Leier
Kelly/Stallard - MacLeod - Lynch

On D

Last night's top unit of Christian Wolanin and Christian Jaros will also be inactive today according to Mann. Macoy Erkamps and Chase Stewart will check in as a result. Mann shared that he felt that Wolanin was "dominant" yesterday and that he was probably the best player on the ice for either team while Jaros netted the Sens' third goal thanks to a cannon from the top of the circle.
With a pair of "veteran prospects" absent on the blueline, Max Lajoie should see a bigger role in today's game. Lajoie, who appeared in 56 games last season for Belleville, will also replace Colin White as the team's acting captain for the squad's final game of the rookie tournament.
"I think the fact that he's wearing the C today is us just trying to show him that he can be a leader for a lot of the younger guys here," said Mann. "It's not his first time through this tournament so he needs to step up today and be one of those guys that can lead the younger players on the backend today."

Here's how the defence pairings will look tonight:
Lajoie - Lyle
D'Astous - Erkamps
Aspirot - Mattinen
Stewart

In goal

He wasn't tested often but Filip Gustavsson turned aside all 15 shots he faced against Montreal last night to record the shutout and a day off this afternoon. Jordan Hollett is expected to start in goal for today's tilt with 2018 sixth round pick Kevin Mandolese set to relieve him at the halfway mark.

"It's unfortunate we only have two games," said Sens goalie coach Pierre Groulx. "But we'll make it work and everyone will be given an opportunity to showcase their skills."
"With every goalie, we're looking to see progression," he continued. "We always leave them with things to work on during the summer after Development Camp so we want to see what kind of progress they've made in those areas."