Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet
In the Canadiens/Senators regions: RDS (French)
Streaming: NHL.tv/NHL Live, RDS Direct, Sportsnet Now
The Canadiens are hitting their stride at just the right time, following a period when it looked like they might stumble out of the playoff picture altogether. They’ve now won three games in a row, and they can thank their top prospect for the last two. Cole Caufield doesn’t just have goals in back-to-back games but game-winners goals to help put the team into a tie with the Winnipeg Jets.
Caufield faces the team he scored his first NHL goal against on the road tonight in what will be the final meeting between the Canadiens and Senators. None of the injured players are ready to return, and that means no one is bumping him from his emergency status just yet.
In the first of two games in two nights, Jake Allen has gotten the call to start over Cayden Primeau. Primeau had claimed the win over the Sens on Saturday, but the coach’s plan seems to be to keep as much pressure on the Jets for the third spot as possible.
Winnipeg is in action against a Calgary Flames team that has been all but eliminated. If the Flames are interested in playing the role of spoiler, the Habs could find themselves moving up in the standings at the end of the night.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Toffoli | Nick Suzuki | Joel Armia |
| Josh Anderson | Phillip Danault | Cole Caufield |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | Jake Evans | Artturi Lehkonen |
| Michael Frolik | Eric Staal | Corey Perry |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Joel Edmundson | Jeff Petry |
| Brett Kulak | Ben Chiarot |
| Alexander Romanov | Jon Merrill |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Jake Allen | Cayden Primeau |
Scratched: Erik Gustafsson
Injured/Ill: Paul Byron (lower body), Jonathan Drouin (leave of absence), Brendan Gallagher (broken thumb), Carey Price (concussion), Tomas Tatar (lower body), Shea Weber (lower body)
Ottawa Senators projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Brady Tkachuk | Josh Norris | Drake Batherson |
| Alex Formenton | Colin White | Nick Paul |
| Tim Stützle | Shane Pinto | Connor Brown |
| Vitaly Abramov | Chris Tierney | Ryan Dzingel |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Victor Mete | Nikita Zaitsev |
| Erik Brannstrom | Artem Zub |
| Olle Alsing | Jacob Bernard-Docker |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Anton Forsberg | Marcus Forsberg |
