Game 67: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Senators region: TSN5 (English), RDS (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Down 2-0 last night while hosting the New Jersey Devils, on their 16th shot of the third period and 38th of the game, the Columbus Blue Jackets finally solved Jake Allen. Mathieu Olivier’s marker snapped a goalless drought of 142:55 for his team dating back to the game versus the same Devils three games earlier, to a goal that Olivier had also scored. In both matches versus New Jersey, that was as far as the Blue Jackets went in comeback attempts, losing twice for an eight-point swing in the span of a week versus the only team they had a chance of catching for Metropolitan Division positioning. Columbus is now 2-6-0 in the month of March, scrabbling to stay in the wild-card chase.
That loss means the situation is the same for the Canadiens as it was at the end of their game three nights ago when they handled the Florida Panthers. Montreal sits one point behind the New York Rangers and now has two games in hand as New York lost to Edmonton on Sunday evening. If the Canadiens can win tonight and the Rangers lose again to a Calgary Flames team desperate to stay in the Western Conference post-season battle, Montreal will sit in the playoff position they’ve been fighting so hard to reach since the 4 Nations Face-Off.
That would require the Habs pushing their post-break record to 8-1-2, versus another of the hottest teams in that time. The Ottawa Senators have just about matched Montreal’s run with a 7-2-1 stretch of their own, and have won six consecutive games for the second time this season. As Montreal has pulled itself to the top of the wild-card bubble, the Senators have been pulling away from it, now five points clear of the Rangers, and only six back of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With two games left to play versus Ottawa, the Canadiens have a chance to reel the Senators back somewhat, and have already claimed the first two wins of the season series. Montreal is less worried about moving up to seventh in the order at this point, and after where they stood in early February, they’d probably be perfectly happy to play Team Canada’s 4 Nations roster if that meant a place in the playoffs. It has taken 92 points in the past couple of seasons to get there, and the following are the records the wild-card teams would need to reach that number over the final fifth of the season:
- (7) Ottawa Senators: 6-7-3 (77 points, 16 games remaining)
- (8) New York Rangers: 9-3-2 (72 pts., 14 GR)
- (9) Montreal Canadiens: 9-4-3 (71 pts., 16 GR)
- (10) Detroit Red Wings: 10-3-2 (70 pts., 15 GR)
- (11) Columbus Blue Jackets: 10-3-2 (70 pts.,15 GR)
- (12) Boston Bruins: 11-1-1 (69 pts.,13 GR)
- (13) New York Islanders: 11-3-2 (68 pts., 16 GR)
- (14) Pittsburgh Penguins: 13-0-0 (66 pts., 13 GR)
Tonight’s game is a big one for the Canadiens, along with the final 15 that follow it. It’s not quite as important for the Senators — as you can see they can probably lose more than they win the rest of the way and still make it — but they could really solidify their position by going up another two points on one of the teams that could threaten their position. Both clubs will really want the win tonight, and that should make for a high-quality game at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens shouldn’t lack for energy after the tease the crowd provided last game of what a playoff atmosphere would sound and feel like.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Senators |
|---|---|---|
| 32-27-7 | Record | 36-25-5 |
| 47.9% (27th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 50.2% (15th) |
| 2.95 (16th) | Goals per game | 2.94 (17th) |
| 3.24 (25th) | Goals against per game | 2.80 (10th) |
| 21.8% (17th) | PP% | 23.7% (11th) |
| 81.4% (10th) | PK% | 77.8% (18th) |
| 2-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-2-0 |
The Senators don’t have a player scoring nearly two points each night like Nick Suzuki is registering for the Canadiens. What they do have are Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, and Brady Tkachuk (who is still fighting a nagging injury) scoring above a point-per-game average over their run and 10 total players with at least five points in the past 10 games, versus Montreal’s five skaters. As has been the case all season, a lot of Ottawa’s offence has come on the power play, however they’ve also netted 22 goals at five-on five in the last 10 games after having just 86 before the 4 Nations, which was two more than the Nashville Predators at the bottom of the list. Their game at even strength is improving ahead of the playoffs, and new acquisition Dylan Cozens is helping on that front with three even-strength points and a +5 rating in the five games he’s played with his new club.
Montreal is also seeing a transformation at five-on-five, though at the opposite end of the rink. Looking at the whole season, the Habs rank sixth-worst with 150 goals surrendered at full strength. Over their 7-1-2 run from late February to now, they’ve allowed just 14, tied for second-best with the Florida Panthers. It’s been a major help that among goalies to play at least five games since the 4 Nations, Samuel Montembeault ranks sixth with a .928 save percentage. (Linus Ullmark, who has grabbed a lot of headlines recently with some spectacular saves, has a mark of .904 in that period)
Both of tonight’s opponents seem to have addressed their major area of weakness late in the season, and that’s why they’ve gone from just showing the promise of being a good team in short bursts to now winning on a regular basis. One of these teams is going to be handed a rare loss tonight, but Montreal’s defensive effort might just be the difference to secure a vital two points.
