Game Day 5: MTL vs OTT

1. The set up:

It's the third and final meeting between these two bitter divisional rivals and though they're not contending for playoffs there certainly are bragging rights up for grabs. The Senators are 2-0 against the Canadiens this season and a win today would give them the season sweep and with only one point separating them in the standings the winner likely finishes on top.

The Sens are coming in fresh off a thrilling shootout victory in Tampa Bay that saw Brady Tkachuk pot his first career shootout goal to nab the Sens the win. All in all the Senators are playing solid hockey lately, anchored by an identity of physicality. With Tkachuk on the verge of setting a new career high in goals (currently tied his career best of 35), and Drake Batherson setting a new career high with each additional goal (28), look for the Senators young forwards to try to pace this rivalry.

The Canadiens have proven to be a tough opponent of late taking down Stanley Cup contenders like the Avalanche and playoff hopefuls like the Flyers, twice (by an aggregate of 13-4). This is largely due to the break out of young forward Juraj Slafkovsky who in his last 16 games has scored 17 points including a nine-game point streak and tallying his first career hattrick. On top of Slafkovsky the Sens will need to slow down Nick Suzuki who currently leads the Habs in goals, assists, and points, most dangerous on the power play where he has 12 this season.

2. Roster report:

While the Senators did not do line rushes at morning skate, interim head coach Jacques Martin confirmed at his morning media availability that the Senators would go with the same line up they used against Tampa Bay tonight. Joonas Korpisalo is the expected starter. Below is the projected line up for tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens:

3. Who to watch:

These divisional games tend to bring out the competitive juices in both sides and when the competition is at it's highest we tend to see some of the best games from Ridly Greig. Greig has tended to find points in spurts this season, and after a couple of games being held without a point since his two point night in Washington he will likely be hungry to get on the scoresheet. In the previous two meetings with Montreal this season, Greig has a goal and an assist and will look to keep up his point per game production against this bitter division rival.

4. Win streak vs Habs:

As the Senators seek the season sweep tonight, we are reminder of how they have dominated this rivalry in recent memory. The Senators swept the Canadiens last season going a perfect 4-0 as well as 4-0 in the preseason. On the verge of two straight season sweeps a win tonight would extend the win streak to a whopping nine straight victories for the Sens. Over the course of the current eight-game streak the Senators have outscored the Canadiens 30-18.

All in all, you would have to go back to March 19, 2022 to find the last Canadiens win in this series. A bitter rivalry nonetheless it tends to bring out the best in both sides and emotions tend to run high. Expect that to be true once more tonight as the Canadiens look to put an end to this streak.

5. Where to watch:

For fans not at Canadian Tire Centre, tonight's game can be found live in English on CITY and in French on TVAS. Fans looking for the radio call can tune into TSN1200 and Unique FM 94,5 for the English and French calls respectively.