Sens always look forward to Battle of Ontario

It might not be meaningful for the Ottawa Senators with regard to this season, but they always look forward to another chapter in the Battle of Ontario.

The Senators will close the door on the provincial rivalry this season when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.

Ottawa has a 2-1-0 record against the Leafs this season and is 5-20 against Toronto during the last two National Hockey League campaigns. The rivalry went through a long stretch where the Leafs were struggling during a rebuild, but has shown signs of improvement lately with Toronto headed for the playoffs this spring.

“They’ve got a lot of depth, a lot of high end scoring and speed, and it makes it very exciting because it makes it very close,” Senators head coach Guy Boucher said Friday. “We’re hoping to get one of those close games again so we can continue building our team game.”

THIS N’ THAT

Craig Anderson will start in net for the Senators against the Leafs. The Senators have decided not to use the alternating-goalie system because Mike Condon is recovering from a bout with the flu. Anderson has won his past three starts — 4-3 in a shootout against Philadelphia last Saturday, 5-3 against New Jersey on Tuesday and 4-3 in overtime against Nashville on Thursday — and has been solid lately. He has a 2.87 goals-against average in those three games along with a .916 save-percentage. He’s 15-7-3 against Toronto during his NHL career with a 2.77 goals-against average and .919 save-percentage … He moved into third all-time in franchise history with 492 points with an assist against the Predators, but captain Erik Karlsson has a long way to go catch leader Daniel Alfredsson (1,108) and Jason Spezza (687).