The race for a playoff spot in the East has become a massive battle and if the Leafs want to make it into the second season this year they’ll have to make sure they take 2pts away from teams like the Ottawa Senators.

Other teams in the race include the Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes (among others).

So far today the Leafs should be pleased as they watch the score boards. The Panthers laid an egg against the Montreal Canadians and The Blue Jackets picked up a point after losing to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime. Meanwhile, the Flyers have to take on a very good Colorado Avalanche team tonight, while the Hurricanes have to take on the red hot Vancouver Canucks tomorrow afternoon.

It doesn’t matter how they do it tonight, whether it’s in regulation, overtime or the skills competition, opportunities to take a step ahead like the one in front of them tonight won’t come along very often for the rest of the year.

The good news is that they’ve come out of the all-star break hot, going 2-0 while scoring 10 goals.

The bad news is that the Senators NEVER take a night off against the Leafs. They seem to care more about the provincial rivalry than the Leafs do, and they find ways to win.

On to some more injury news:

Dermott (sick) out tonight. Marincin in #Leafs

— Terry Koshan (@koshtorontosun) February 1, 2020

I really felt like Dermott was taking strides over the past few weeks. He has played over 21 minutes a night in 3 of his last 5 games and all three of those games were Leaf wins. I was hoping to see him build off of that momentum, so lets hope this doesn’t trip him up at all.

Your expected lineup:

#Leafs lines at practice:

Hyman-Matthews-Marner
Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander
Johnsson-Engvall-Kapanen
Moore-Gauthier-Spezza

Muzzin-Holl
Marincin-Barrie
Sandin-Ceci
Gravel

Andersen
Hutchinson

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 31, 2020

Michael Hutchinson will get the start as Sheldon Keefe attempts to rest Frederik Andersen ahead of a Monday tilt against the Florida Panthers, an absolute must-win game:

Hutchinson starts tomorrow night. Keefe unsure whether Dermott plays #Leafs

— Terry Koshan (@koshtorontosun) January 31, 2020

Ottawa Senators

Record: 18-24-9

PP%: 14.7% (T-30th in NHL)

PK%: 80.9% (15th in NHL)

GF/GP: 2.76 (22nd in NHL)

GA/GP: 3.33 (T-28th in NHL)

S/GP: 30.1 (24th in NHL)

SA/GP: 33.6 (29th in NHL)

Toronto: 

Record: 27-17-7

PP%: 23.7% (5th in NHL)

PK%: 76.9% (25th in NHL)

GF/GP: 3.63 (2nd in NHL)

GA/GP: 3.25 (24th in NHL)

S/GP: 33.6 (5th in NHL)

SA/GP: 32.7 (T-25th in NHL)