Canadiens @ Senators: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators

How to watch

Start time: 7:30 PM EDT / 4:30 PM PDT
In Canada: TSN5, TSN Direct (English), RDS, RDS Direct (French)
Elsewhere: NHL.tv / NHL Live

The Canadiens made their first round of cuts this morning, sending 14 players to Laval to participate in AHL training camp next week. Some roster hopefuls remain in Montreal, about to get better looks with the NHL alignments slowly starting to form around the league.

Nick Suzuki is one player still in the mix — perhaps more than in the mix. Tonight he will take his shifts in Brendan Gallagher’s usual place beside Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar, getting his first action as a winger in the pre-season. Jake Evans will centre a line that looks like it could be the number-one trio in Laval in a few weeks’ time, but he’s not giving up on an NHL job yet, either.

Defenceman Cale Fleury is in a similar position to Suzuki, having done plenty to boost his stock and giving little reason for the coaching staff to part with him in favour of another player. Should he look as solid tonight as he has all pre-season long, he may not be joining his fellow prospects in Laval anytime soon.

The rebuilding Ottawa Senators have a young pool of players to draw from, and tonight’s lineup for the home side is brimming with youth. Many of these players will be making a team that is short on veterans at this stage, so you can expect them to provide a stiff test for Keith Kinkaid as they attempt to stand out among their peers.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

Ottawa Senators projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders