Canadiens at Senators

CANADIENS (14-12-2) at SENATORS (12-14-2)

Canadiens projected lineup
Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Kirby Dach
Evgenii Dadonov -- Christian Dvorak -- Mike Hoffman
Juraj Slafkovsky -- Jake Evans -- Josh Anderson
Michael Pezzetta -- Jonathan Drouin -- Joel Armia
Joel Edmundson -- Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj -- Chris Wideman
Jordan Harris -- Johnathan Kovacevic
Sam Montembeault
Jake Allen
Scratched: Rem Pitlick
Injured: Brendan Gallagher (lower body), Sean Monahan (lower body), Mike Matheson (undisclosed), David Savard (upper body)
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Derick Brassard -- Claude Giroux
Alex DeBrincat -- Shane Pinto -- Drake Batherson
Parker Kelly -- Mark Kastelic -- Austin Watson
Jake Lucchini -- Rourke Chartier -- Dylan Gambrell
Thomas Chabot -- Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Sanderson -- Travis Hamonic
Erik Brannstrom -- Nick Holden
Cam Talbot
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Dillon Heatherington
Injured: Josh Norris (shoulder), Artem Zub (jaw), Mathieu Joseph (lower body), Tyler Motte (undisclosed), Tim Stutzle (shoulder)
Status report
Drouin will return after missing 13 games because of an upper-body injury. … Caufield said he feels "great" and will play after leaving a 2-1 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Monday because of a hit from Flames forward Trevor Lewis. … Montembeault will make his first start since allowing seven goals on 32 shots in a 7-6 overtime loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 5. ... Stutzle, a forward, will be out "at least one week," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. … Motte, a forward, is week to week. … Talbot did not participate in Ottawa's morning skate Wednesday but could start. … The Senators recalled Lucchini and Heatherington, a defenseman, from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.