Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Senators region: TSN5 (English), RDS (French)
A few nights removed from the ice, and from a lopsided loss, the Montreal Canadiens will seek revenge against the Ottawa Senators, who shut down the Habs’ offence in a whopping 5-0 win on Saturday night.
The Canadiens will be hosting the rematch at the Bell Centre, the same building they’ve dropped three of their past four contests.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Senators |
|---|---|---|
| 20-26-4 | Record | 23-23-3 |
| 44.6% (26th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 52.1% (10th) |
| 2.52 (30th) | Goals per game | 2.96 (24th) |
| 3.68 (28th) | Goals against per game | 3.23 (19th) |
| 14.8% (32nd) | PP% | 26.2% (3rd) |
| 73.5% (29th) | PK% | 81.2% (10th) |
| 0-2-0 | H2H Record | 2-0-0 |
Montreal’s offence was unable to make anything happen in their outing Saturday in Kanata, with all 28 shots denied by goaltender Anton Forsberg as he recorded his third career NHL shutout, and second in this month alone.
The Canadiens did have a jump to their step to start as young 18-year-old prospect Owen Beck played in his NHL debut. A second-round pick in last July’s draft, Beck had been one of the last cuts ahead of this season, but has continued to turn heads in his development in the Ontario Hockey League. He finished the night -1 with one block, and following the game was sent back down to the Peterborough Petes.
Nick Suzuki has only one goal and five helpers in the team’s 5-7-1 January. After one more bit of action at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game next weekend in Florida, he and the team will get some much needed rest during the annual bye week, a break from injuries and a rebuilding season that has had them near the bottom of the league for much of the year.
The Senators have also found themselves in another rebuild year, with a couple of core players starting their Ottawa tenures this year. The two big off-season additions, Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, are having great seasons with their new club. Captain Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, and Drake Batherson all join them with 40 or more points this season, which is impressive for a team that is bottom-10 in league standings. Tkachuk, Ottawa’s representative at the All-Star festivities, currently has six goals and 11 points through 13 games in the month of January.
With the long break coming up, the Canadiens won’t play their next contest until February 11 when they host Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders, a span of 10 days off. Tonight’s tilt will be the third of four meetings between Montreal and Ottawa. The Senators have prevailed both times so far, but as the old saying goes, “something’s gotta give …” at the rink.
