The Ottawa Senators have some rivals in their franchise. Of course, no rivalry is deeper for the Senators than the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Battle of Ontario.
The Battle of Ontario is one of the biggest rivalries in the NHL throughout Canada. However, the potential that another rivalry runs deep in the country has the ability to grow more involving the Senators.
One thing is for sure, after this past Tuesday's preseason game, the Senators may develop more hatred for the only NHL team that plays in the province of Quebec.
Expect Sens and Habs to start hating each other more
The Montreal Canadiens are the NHL's most storied franchise with winning 24 Stanley Cups, the most out of all 32 NHL teams. This past Tuesday, the Canadiens and Senators got real chippy throughout.
The Senators and Canadiens played each other for a preseason game at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec. The Candiens shutout the Senators 5-0, but the final score wasn't what people were talking about.
It was the amount of penalty minutes over the course of the game. From both teams combined, there was a total of 150 penalty minutes in Tuesday's game.
Punches, scraps and fights were a constant throughout the game. In particular, Jan Jenik of the Senators got in two fights during the game.
Both the Senators and Canadiens are two rising teams that are eager to be in Stanley Cup conversation in the Eastern Conference. While the Senators made the playoffs for the first time since 2017 last season, the Canadiens made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2021.
The rivalry will grow more with both teams having two young dynamic American defensemen with Ottawa's Jake Sanderson and Montreal's Lane Hutson. The battle to see which defenseman is better is something fans will love to see for many years down the road.
What some may find shocking is the Senators and Canadiens have only met two times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Senators won the 2013 first round series, while the Canadiens won the 2015 first round series. With only having played each other two times in playoff history, that has the ability to change with each team having talented players on each roster.
Another thing that can add intensity to the rivalry is Ottawa having a solid French population despite Ontario citizens mainly speaking English as Montreal has a massive French population.
Both the Senators and Canadiens will be battling this season intensely. There are four games on the 2025-26 schedule for the Senators and Canadiens to play against each other. Each team will host the other two times.
The first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 1 in Montreal, but there is one more preseason game between the two teams this upcoming Saturday in Montreal at Bell Centre.