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Toronto at Ottawa – 1:00 PM - The Arena at TD Place
Watch on Linear TV: TSN
Streaming: YouTube
Toronto last played on Wednesday at home to Boston, where they Natalie Spooner won it with a third period goal to make it 2-1. Toronto is in first place with 36 Points and Points % of .667.
Ottawa last played on Wednesday away to New York, where they won 3-0. They have 24 Points and a Points % of .444 and are in fourth place.
Them
Ottawa, coming off a shutout win of the now firmly last-place New York team, could see host Toronto in the playoffs if they can hold off Boston and stay in fourth place. This game means a lot more to them than it does to Toronto.
Ottawa beat Toronto decisively back in January when Toronto couldn't buy a goal. Their most recent meeting saw Toronto win by a score of 5-2 in Ottawa's rink, but Ottawa is not an easy team to beat.
They have the best power play, they PK fairly well (by success %), and they score almost as much as Toronto. They have one problem, and that's goaltending/defence. They have the 10th and 11th goalie out of 12 by Save %, and leaking goals is why they don't win more often.
They shoot a lot, they shoot fairly well, and unlike a lot of teams they share the points out to a lot of players.
Ottawa made some deals at the deadline that frankly I find headscratchers. I must be missing something. They moved Lexie Adzija to rival Boston, currently in fifth place, and dealt a defender to Montréal for Tereza Vanišová, who had two goals and eight assists. The deals made sense from the other side, but I'm not sure what the point was for Ottawa unless Vanišová is a much better fit.
Us
Toronto is playing short a key player again due to a suspension. This time it's the impossible to replace Jocelyne Larocque, who is out one game for a cross check against a Boston player in the last game. Vanišová has also been fined, but not suspended for a hit from behind.
pkrotz
So, what to do without your number one defender, half of the best pairing in the league, and your frequent PP1 backstop? Toronto began the season with both Larocque and Renata Fast on PP1, but have changed that up over the last three months to use four forwards some of the time. They'll need to do that tonight for every PP1. And Fast is well up to being the lone defender on the unit.
Kali Flanagan has become Toronto's third most recognizable defender, and it will likely be up to her to bring all she's got to this game. Lauriane Rougeau has been noticeable as well.
Erica Howe started the last game, so we should expect Kristen Campbell back.
The Game
This is the first of three games featuring all six teams that will lead into the World Championship break. When Monday's game is over, all teams will have played 19 games, and will return in April to play five final deciding games before the playoffs.
No matter what happens in these three games, Toronto will go into the break in first place. If they end up tied in points with Minnesota, they hold more wins.
A win here sets up Toronto to cruise through the final five, but as of now, no one has clinched a playoff spot, and no one is eliminated.
Go Toronto Go! Keep the streak alive.
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