“I’m going to beat the crap out of him. I don’t care. I want his evening to be painful.”
Love to see the hatred. Onto the preview:
The NHL returns to the regular season action as the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators collide in an Atlantic Division matchup. This is the team’s second meeting of the season; and the first time they do so in Ontario.
In their first contest of the season, Montreal downed Ottawa 4-1 at Centre Bell in what was the Senators’ road opener. Forwards Cole Caufield (2), Emil Heineman, and Alexander Newhook each scored for Montreal. Tim Stützle had the lone Ottawa goal.
Montreal has been busy since they faced off last. The Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Jacob Perreault from the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer. The Montreal Canadiens acquired defenseman Alexandre Carrier from the Nashville Predators for defenseman Justin Barron.
Both teams are coming into tonight in the midst of three game losing skids, but the Senators remain even through their last 10. Montreal has been 2-7-1 in that same stretch. Playoffs are beginning to look like a pipe dream for the Canadiens, as they are expected to potentially sell off forwards Jake Evans; Joel Armia; and Josh Anderson; and defensemen Michael Matheson and David Savard.
Sharks center Macklin Celebrini and Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson are the frontrunners to win the Calder Trophy as the League’s top rookie, but there is still time for other first-year players to state their case. Hutson leads all rookies with 41 points (three goals, 38 assists) in 56 games and is averaging 22:31 of ice time. Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, has 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 45 games. He missed 12 games earlier this season with a hip injury. Other notable rookies include forward Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers, who has 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 55 games, and goalie Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames (19-11-3, 2.63 GAA, .912 save percentage).
Fans attending tomorrow night’s game can celebrate the Senators’ recent announcement of the return of the Hamburglar by grabbing a Brady Burger from Legacy Social Lounge at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Detroit Red Wings (28-22-5) are in position to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015-16, currently the second wild card from the Eastern Conference with 61 points. The Ottawa Senators (62 points) hold the first wild card from the Eastern Conference and are looking to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. Detroit and Ottawa will try to fend off the Columbus Blue Jackets (60 points), Boston Bruins (60), New York Rangers (58) and New York Islanders (57), Montreal Canadiens (55), Pittsburgh Penguins (55) and Philadelphia Flyers (55). In the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks (63 points) and Calgary Flames (60) are set up for an epic race for the second wild card, with the St. Louis Blues (55), Anaheim Ducks (54) and Seattle Kraken (52) having work to do to get back in the running.
Keys to Victory
1. Tend the Net. The Senators have a top ten goaltending in the league; the Canadiens have a bottom-5 goaltending.
2. Possess the Puck. Ottawa has 5th best face-off winning percentage in the league. As long as they can hold the puck in their barn, they have an outside shot at victory.
3. Special Teams. Ottawa has the 10th best powerplay; Montreal has the 8th best penalty kill. As long as one outdoes the other, the points will be for the home squad.
Projected Lineups
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Jake Evans
Alex Newhook — Kirby Dach — Josh Anderson
Patrik Laine — Owen Beck — Joel Armia
Juraj Slafkovsky — Christian Dvorak — Brendan Gallagher
Lane Huston — Jayden Struble
Mike Matheson — Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj — David Savard
Samuel Montembault
Jakub Dobes
Scratched — none
Injured — David Reinbacher, Emil Heineman, Kaiden Guhle, Michael Pezzetta
Ottawa Senators
Matthew Highmore — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Ridly Greig — Drake Batherson
David Perron — Zach Ostapchuk — Michael Amadio
Cole Reinhardt — Adam Gaudette — Nikolas Matinpalo
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven — Travis Hamonic
Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg
Scratched — none
Injured — Jacob Bernard-Docker, Noah Gregor, Nick Cousins, Josh Norris, Shane Pinto
Players to Watch
Montreal — Alex Newhook — a goal and 4 apples in his previous 5, the second line winger has been hot for the Habs.
Ottawa — Tim Stützle — a goal and 6 helpers in his last 5 games the German forward had his two weeks off from the Four Nations tournament and is ready for more meaningful games ahead.
Predicted Final Score
MTL — 2
OTT — 3
Gambling Corner
The Ottawa Senators are favorites at a -180 per NHL Draft Kings odds. Montreal is a +150.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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