Canadiens at Senators preview
Montreal seeks first win in nine games; Ottawa 0-4-2 in previous six
by Callum Fraser / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
CANADIENS (18-20-7) at SENATORS (16-22-6)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, CITY, TVAS, NHL.TV
The Game
The Montreal Canadiens will try for their first win in nine games when they visit the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
The Canadiens are 0-7-1 in their past eight games after going 6-2-0 in their previous eight. It's the second time this season Montreal has gone eight straight without a win; they were 0-5-3 from Nov. 16-Dec. 1
Forward Brendan Gallagher will not play for Montreal after dealing with headaches following a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Goalie Marcus Hogberg will start for the Senators, who are 0-4-2 in their past six games after going 5-2-3 in their previous 10.
Players to watch
Canadiens goalie Carey Price is 0-5-1 with an .875 save percentage in his past six starts.
Senators forward Anthony Duclair has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in his past 16 games.
They said it
"You can tweak certain things, which we're trying to do. You're trying to put some lines together and some of them, when you don't get the last change, you've got to be careful with who they're out against and that stuff, but at one point there's only so many things you can do as a coach. You have what you have. We've got some young players, we've got some guys that would be in Laval (American Hockey League) if we were healthy, and that's reality, and that's life. You have to deal with that and adjust." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien
"Tonight, it was about forechecking and getting in on them. I think we did that well. We need to definitely carry that into [Saturday] night with a fast team like Montreal." -- Senators forward Colin White following a 3-2 shootout loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday
Canadiens projected lineup
Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Nick Suzuki
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Max Domi -- Matthew Peca
Artturi Lehkonen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Nick Cousins
Ryan Poehling -- Nate Thompson -- Jordan Weal
Marco Scandella -- Shea Weber
Brett Kulak -- Jeff Petry
Victor Mete -- Cale Fleury
Carey Price
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Dale Weise
Injured: Ben Chiarot (lower body), Paul Byron (upper body), Joel Armia (hand), Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Brendan Gallagher (headaches)
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Anthony Duclair -- Artem Anisimov -- Drake Batherson
Tyler Ennis -- Colin White -- Rudolfs Balcers
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Chris Tierney -- Filip Chlapik
Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey
Andreas Englund -- Dylan DeMelo
Mike Reilly -- Cody Goloubef
Marcus Hogberg
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Mikkel Boedker, Scott Sabourin, Mark Borowiecki
Injured: Nikita Zaitsev (undisclosed), Anders Nilsson (concussion), Nick Paul (ankle)
Status report
Byron and Drouin are not expected to return before the NHL All-Star break later this month. … Borowiecki (illness) did not play Friday and will be a game-time decision. … Peca will return to the lineup for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury on Dec. 10. … The medical staff has yet to determine whether Gallagher's headaches are related to the concussion he sustained on Dec. 31 or an illness, Julien said.
Stat pack
Domi has 15 points (six goals, nine assists), in his past 14 games.