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If the Canadiens have exceeded expectations so far this season, the Sens have done just the opposite. Most pundits agreed before the start of the season that Ottawa had gotten better, they went out and traded for Alex DeBrincat, got Cam Talbot in net and signed local favorite Claude Giroux as a free agent. On paper, they were set for better results, on the ice, the story was quite different. They lost Talbot at the start of the season for an extended period of time, and they just couldn’t get it together. Right now, they are dead last in the Atlantic division two points behind the Sabres and 4 behind the Habs.

Even though Jake Allen pulled a rabbit out of his hat in Monday’s game against the Flames, it’s Samuel Montembeault who will be in net for the first game of the back-to-back. After a few very good games in November, Montembeault last game was the 7-6 overtime loss in Vancouver on the 5th December, he’ll no doubt want to bounce back after that one.

As announced yesterday, Cole Caufield should be available for the game and Jonathan Drouin will travel to Ottawa which seems to indicate that he may be a game time decision. Unlike Drouin, Matheson, who’s day to day, will not be travelling to Ottawa so he’s already ruled out, just like David Savard and Sean Monahan who will both be missing between 2 and 3 weeks.

Monahan’s absence is bad news for the Habs, his absence at center hurts the team on the ice and an injury can only hurt his trade value. He’s listed as having a lower-body injury and was using a protective cast on his foot before he stopped playing, but potential suitors are no doubt taking note of that absence. Hopefully, this is the team being overly cautious and making sure he’s 100% before putting him back on the ice.

The game will start at 7:00 PM and this will be the first game between the two teams this season. Although they did play 4 times in the preseason, 4 games which the Senators won, but a lot has happened since then.

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