The Ottawa Senators will be looking to bounce back after a tough defeat against the New Jersey Devils. They will take on the Montreal Canadiens in their first matchup of the season.
A little bit past the 10 game mark of the regular season the Ottawa Senators sit second in the Atlantic. Conversely the Montreal Canadiens sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with seven points in 11 games. However, they are coming off a win over the New York Rangers.
Forward
Going into the game the Sens will once again be without Kyle Turris as he continues to recover from a viral disease. As a result, the Sens will only use 11 forwards tonight. They will be: Ryan Dzingel, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris DiDomenico, Alex Burrows, Zack Smith, Jack Rodewald, Nate Thompson, and Tom Pyatt.
Defence
On defence with the Sens will use seven defencemen. They will be: Johnny Oduya, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf, Cody Ceci, Fredrik Claesson, Mark Borowiecki, and Chris Wideman.
Goal
In goal the Sens will go back to Craig Anderson after Mike Condon had a poor performance in New Jersey.
Next: Ottawa Senators: A Problem With Holding The Lead
Keys To The Game
The game tonight will be an opportunity for the Sens to bounce back after poor performances in recent games. Despite getting points and victories along the way, the Sens have struggled with one key aspect of their game. They can’t play with the lead. Whether it’s complacency or an inability to play 60 minutes, the Sens need to fix that problem.
The Canadiens have been one of the worst teams to start the year in the entire NHL. Losing against a team like this would not be a good look. These are the games that you can’t give up. The Ottawa Senators need to get these two points.