Pre-game notes: Sens vs. Canadiens

Here's everything you need to know about tonight's line-up as the Sens prospects get set to take on the host Canadiens in Laval at the 2018 rookie tournament.

Up front

The forward lines looked pretty similar to what we saw yesterday when rookie camp opened in Ottawa and the top two lines have remained intact. The trios of Brady Tkachuk - Filip Chlapik - Colin White and Alex Formenton - Logan Brown - Drake Batherson we once again paired together during today's morning skate and should help create an offensive spark for the Senators tonight against Montreal.
"Strategically, you want to pair together players that you think will be a good fit," said Belleville head coach Troy Mann about his top lines. "That was kind of our mindset and not just 'these are our top 6 prospects…let's put them together'."

Mann provided the example of pairing a player like Brown, a natural playmaker, with a player like Batherson, who possesses a very good relelase, as a way to create some potential chemistry this weekend. He also mentioned that White would move over to the right side tonight, much like he did during parts of his NHL stints last season, which opens up the middle for another centre in Chlapik.
Here's a look at the forward lines tonight in Laval:
Tkachuk-Chlapik-White
Formenton-Brown-Batherson
Burzan-Luchuk-Sturtz
Kelly/Stallard-Macleod-Lynch

On D

Another grouping from yesterday has stayed together after the two-hour trip to Laval as Christian Wolanin and Christian Jaros will form the team's top pairing tonight. Much like the coach was looking for natural fits up front, the same logic seems to be in place on the backend with a natural puckmovers like Wolanin and Max Lajoie paired with more stay-at-home defencemen like Jaros and Brady Lyle respectively.
Here's how the defence pairings will look tonight:
Wolanin-Jaros
Lajoie-Lyle
D'Astous-Mattinen
Aspirot

In goal

Sens goalie coach Pierre Groulx confirmed yesterday that Filip Gustavsson will get the start in goal and is expected to play tonight's game in its entirety. Gustavsson made his North American pro debut last March with the Belleville Senators and expects that that experience should help him on the smaller ice surface again tonight.
"The time in Belleville last year helped to fill in some blanks in how my game can work at this level," said Gustavsson this morning. "I'm still going to be nervous before tonight's game but I definitely feel more confident than if I hadn't had the chance to play in Belleville last year."
Keen observers on social media may have noticed that Gustavsson is sporting his Team Sweden trapper this weekend after a sizing mix-up during the summer. The 20-year-old Swede shared that it's more of a comfort thing as he continues to break in new gear for this upcoming season but he also doesn't mind the subtle nod to his home country.
"It wasn't something I was really thinking about doing," he shared. "But I guess it's pretty cool to get to wear it in a game with the Senators."

Jordan Hollett is set to back Gustavsson up this evening.

Special Teams

Prior to this morning's skate, the Sens ran through some quick power play drills and I wisely jotted down the units. What's interesting is that both groups feature four forwards and one defenceman which is reminiscent to how the NHL club ran their power play in Ottawa last season.

Wolanin and Lajoie, who both excel with the puck on their stick, look to be tasked with quarterbacking the man advantage while Chlapik and Brown both spent time moving from the point down to the half wall in support. Just something to keep an eye out for tonight when the Sens head to the power play.