Game 49: Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
For the fourth time of what will be five starts since returning from his conditioning loan in the AHL, Samuel Montembeault will face a non-playoff team as the Montreal Canadiens attempt to rebuild his confidence and get him back to the level he’s shown for the past couple of years. So far, the results have been there with a 3-0-1 record since December 30, and that’s the form the organization would like to see him continue.
The team he’ll face tonight is the Ottawa Senators, who have slipped to the back of the pack in the chase for the playoffs, just one point up on last place in the Eastern Conference. It shouldn’t take a great deal of effort for Montembeault to outplay Leevi Merilainen at the opposite end considering the Finnish netminder’s .868 save percentage on the season and the fact that he’s allowed at least three goals four times in the past five games.
After a gruelling stretch for Montreal, a couple of days off await them following this game before they return to play at home. There are no more back-to-backs to be played between now and the Olympic break, and that’s good because there are some tough teams to play over those final eight games before the pause. The Habs need to put whatever energy they have left into this game, separate themselves even further from an Atlantic Division rival, and set themselves up for the upcoming difficult schedule.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#85 Alexandre Texier |
| #17 Josh Anderson |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#71 Jake Evans |
#90 Joe Veleno |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle |
#72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #35 Samuel Montembeault |
#75 Jakub Dobeš |
Scratched: Sammy Blais, Jayden Struble
Injured: Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Ottawa Senators projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Fabian Zetterlund |
Tim Stützle |
Drake Batherson |
| Brady Tkachuk |
Dylan Cozens |
Ridly Greig |
| Michael Amadio |
Shane Pinto |
Claude Giroux |
| Nick Cousins |
Lars Eller |
David Perron |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Jake Sanderson |
Artem Zub |
| Thomas Chabot |
Nick Jensen |
| Tyler Kleven |
Jordan Spence |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Leevi Merilainen |
James Reimer |
