Pre-season Game 2: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Senators region: TSN5
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS Direct
Following a great showing in the scrimmages after recovering from shoulder surgery in the off-season, Cole Caufield makes his pre-season debut opposite Sean Monahan on Nick Suzuki’s line. It’s an interesting spot to see Monahan in, but one that could make a lot of sense if this is something Martin St-Louis wants to run with. The coaching staff has been trying various players in that spot so far, so this could just be the latest audition to see what works best.
Another impressive player has been Lias Andersson, who has backed up his quotes of wanting to play for the Montreal Canadiens with inspired play throughout training camp. He’s on a line with Filip Mesar and Emil Heineman which appears to be an AHL trio in the making, but all three of those players expressed their desire to make the NHL roster over the summer.
The most interesting name is that of Juraj Slafkovský, back in for the second time in two games. His first match wasn’t a convincing showing to prove that he belongs on the NHL roster over the likes of Andersson or Heineman, or Joshua Roy or Owen Beck, and the coaching staff wants to see how he performs with a new set of linemates.
This is the first of two games Montreal will play versus Ottawa in the tune-up schedule, but the Senators’ lineup is far from the one we will see in the pre-season finale on October 7. None of the team’s stars have made the trip to Montreal, so the main thing to watch for is what kind of performance Joonas Korpisalo can put in behind the B team as he aims to help the club take the next step this season.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #22 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #91 Sean Monahan |
| #49 Rafaël Harvey-Pinard | #77 Kirby Dach | #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #24 Lias Andersson | #48 Filip Mesar | #51 Emil Heineman |
| #80 Gabriel Bouque | #74 Brandon Gignac | #78 Jared Davidson |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #58 David Savard |
| #84 William Trudeau | #26 Johnny Kovacevic |
| #59 Mattias Norlinder | #38 Brady Keeper |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #34 Jake Allen | #30 Cayden Primeau |
