Over the past few decades, an interesting rivalry has developed between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, these two teams don’t like each other. The preseason was pretty much just normal, the hit on Kirby Dach, the hit on Tim Stutzle, the stars were falling like flies and the last preseason game with, well, not many regulars setting the table for tonight’s game.
To view the embedded media, view the original article.
However, now it’s time to get down to business, two points are at stake and the teams must try to win the hockey match. In the final pre-season match, Zack MacEwan dropped the gloves with Arber Xhekaj, and although the Senators stalwart lost the fight, the matter will hopefully be considered closed.
The Canadiens had the day off yesterday, but held a morning skate at the Bell Center this morning. Samuel Montembeault will be back in net for the match.
Related: Canadiens Home Opener: Mission Accomplie
In the final frame of the Boston loss, Martin St-Louis shook his lines a bit to provoke some offense, reuniting Juraj Slafkovsky with Dach and Alex Newhook, while Josh Anderson secured a spot on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Some wondered if those new lines would stick, but Morning Skate told us that won’t happen.
Tonight’s tilt will be the first of four between the two teams in the season series. The Senators are currently on a nine-game winning streak against the Canadiens and have won nine of the last ten meetings. Montreal’s last win against Ottawa dates back to Game 19, 2022.
Brendan Gallagher has scored a number of goals so far this season. His next goal will be the 221st of his career, moving him into 21st for most career goals, tied with the Canadiens with Guy Carbonneau. As for his first pass of the season, it will move him up to 40th for most career assists with 209, tied with Jean-Guy Talbot. His next power-play goal will be his 46th, tying him for 28th in team history, tied with Mario Tremblay. However, he is still 19 points behind Doug Harvey as the Habs’ 30th best point producer. Any way you look at it, Gallagher is slowly but surely working his way up the Canadiens history ladder.
Cole Caufield has eight points in ten games against the Senators, while Brendan Gallagher is the most productive against them with 24 points in 44 games. Surprisingly, Arber
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels wrote today from the morning skate that Alex Barre-Boulet would make way for Heineman in the lineup, which would result in some line changes. Christian Dvorak will center Heineman and Kapanen, while Josh Anderson lands with Jake Evans and Gallagher. Funnily enough, this new line has collectively scored three of the Canadiens’ five goals this season. The top two lines return to their original formation and the same goes for the defending pairs.
In net, tonight’s starter Montembeault has never won against Ottawa. He has an 0-3-0 record with a 4.13 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage. Meanwhile, Cayden Primeau is 2-1-1 against them with a 3.15 GAA and a .907 SP, but given the duo’s performances in their respective starts this year, those records based on a fairly small body of work will mean very little.
On the other hand, keep an eye on Brady Tkachuk, who has scored 26 points in 28 games and 45 penalty minutes. Bell Center crowd favorite Tim Stutzle has 17 points in 19 games. In net, both Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg have a winning record against the Habs. Ullmark is 3-1-0 and Forsberg is 6-0-0, the former has a 2.58 GAA and a .899 SP and the latter has a 2.82 GAA and a .921 SP. Coach Travis Green has yet to decide who will man the net tonight.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET and the Canadiens are back in action on Monday night hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins, making for a fun long weekend of hockey in Montreal.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains
Bookmark the Hockey News Canadiens page for all the news and happenings surrounding the Canadiens
