It looked early on like Carey Price was going to give the Senators an early Christmas present, but in the end it was the Senators in a giving mood that proved to be their undoing as the Habs skated away with a 4-1 victory on home ice.

Trailing by a goal, the Senators gifted the Habs with 3 power plays in the final 7+ minutes that all but derailed any chance of a comeback, as Montreal scored twice late to turn a close game into a bit of a rout.

HERE ARE SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE GAME

* Ottawa got off to a slow start, combined with their slow finish made it a tough night to win. For a time, the only shots Ottawa had on goal were Erik Condra's shorthanded shot that Price dropped, and the ensuing rebound that Condra poked past him for the goal.

* In fact, the Senators didn't even have a shot attempt at even strength until the game was almost 9 minutes old. By that time the Habs had 15 or 16, yet thanks to Robin Lehner the Sens were still even.

* Lehner was pretty solid, although he would likely want the Habs first goal back, where Brandon Prust put it short-side from a tough angle. He was really hung out to dry on the other 3 Habs goals, although Gallagher's finish on the 3 on 2 went right through him as he came across the crease.

* The too many men on the ice penalty that led to Montreal's 3rd goal (and shortly thereafter the 4th) was inexcuseable. MacAthur jumped on the ice way too soon, and even if (I think it was) Alex Chiasson hadn't turned back to play a puck that trickled out of the zone, it still might have been a penalty. He wasn't even close to the bench when Mac jumped on.

* The best Ottawa Senator by far in this guy's mind was Mike Hoffman. He had 11 shot attempts, seemed to have the puck on his stick more than anyone not wearing #65 and was the most dangerous Senator all night. He wasn't rewarded for his efforts other than this praise, which doesn't amount to anything on the scoreboard.

* Alex Chiasson also had a good game, and was far and away the Corsi leader with pretty remarkable +16 differentail at even strength, but the wide open net he missed from about 3 feet away and the Sens down by a goal will haunt him for some time. It flubbed off the end of his stick and even before it went wide he was looking to the heavens in disbelief.

* While Condra's short-handed goal was a bit of a gift, you have to give him credit for continuing to drive to the net after taking the initial shot. A lot of players would have just peeled off on the play and not gotten that second opportunity when it presented itself.

The Sens have one game left before the Chrismas break, on Monday night when they play in Washington. The break comes at a good time, so they can regroup before playing 4 straight divisional games after the Holiday.

SENS PROSPECTS PLAYING FOR CANADA TONIGHT

There will be some Senators content in Ottawa tonight as Curtis Lazar and Nick Paul will play for Team Canada against Team Sweden in their second of 3 pre-tournament games, this one at Canadian Tire Centre.

Paul might have just a little more bounce in his step as he signed his 3 year entry level contract with the Senators yesterday

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