The Leafs can’t afford a slow start against the Sens

Can we really say hockey is back before the first Hockey Night in Canada game of the season?

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No…the answer is no!

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The Maple Leafs host the Senators to kick-off the Hockey Night in Canada season with the second game of a home-and-home series. 

And if you’re a Leafs fan and you’re not aware of what happened in the first game of the series on Thursday…you should probably keep it that way.

But here’s a quick recap…

For the second straight game, the Leafs gave up some early chances, and because of that, they ended up down 3-0 at the end of the first. Rough start for Toronto’s backup Petr Mrazek, but honestly, I’m giving him a pass for those first two goals

The Chris Tierney goal, never should’ve counted! But hey apparently, I have no idea what a clear and distinct kicking motion is anymore. And the second was just a point-blank redirect by Tyler Ennis on the power play.

The actually rough part of the night for Mrazek was at the end of the 2nd…when he suffered a groin injury and did not return. Not so great news for the Leafs.

But lemme woosah for a second…’cause there were some positive for Toronto in this one.

One – Jack Campbell a.k.a. Soupy came in for Mrazek and shut the door in the third stopping all 10 shots he faced. He’s only allowed one goal on 42 shots to start the season

And the other positive…both Toronto goals came on the power play, giving them three in two games with the extra attacker -- and considering how awful that unit was at the end of last season, that’s really good news!

But alright, that was Thursday. Time to turn the page to the second half of the home-and-home in the battle of Ontario.

What can we expect?

Well, for one…Soupy will be back in the net.

And two…a much better start for Toronto coming out of the gate. In fact, the home team was won the first period in each of the last six games between these two

So, here are my picks:

Picks

• Take the Leafs moneyline for the 1st period at +120
• Under 6 total goals at +100
• And the Leafs -1.5 puckline

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