The Canadiens‘ preseason has gone as expected. With all the internal tinkering taking place right now, the team has been playing like a watch that hasn’t been calibrated yet, and kind of just ticks at different speeds, making you believe in it sometimes, while at others having you scratching your head and hoping that it’s “just preseason”.
The Habs have won 2 of 6 preseason games, and tonight end a busy schedule and also put a close to a camp that saw 58 players at its start, now down to 28 before the final cuts will be made tomorrow. Still competing for spots on the big team are Charles Hudon, Sven Andrighetto and Jacob de la Rose. Dustin Tokarksi will also be put to the test for a full 60 minutes tonight to evaluate his place with the Canadiens, as pressure from Mike Condon has management questioning whether they’d risk putting Tokarski through waivers to send him down to St. John’s.
The Senators will be icing most of their regulars tonight, with a lineup featuring Kyle Turris and Milan Michalek who were both absent from the Sens’ lineup on Thursday in Montreal. Craig Anderson will also rest tonight, with Boston University product Matt O’Connor getting his second chance to play some NHL calibre hockey, and possibly prove his ability to be a back-up option for Anderson if Hammond’s nagging injury doesn’t heal in time for the start of the regular season.
The Habs will be looking to give their offensive lines some more time together, hopefully to teach them to finish on their chances, as the Canadiens launched 42 shots and 69 shot attempts on Thursday against the Sens and produced only 2 goals. In fact, after the Habs scored their second goal at the 9:52 mark of the first period, they had 53 more shot attempts and didn’t score. What’s noticeable about this team right now is their focus on the internal competition, which come regular season will take a back seat to turning that fire outwards towards the 29 other teams in the league.
How To Watch:
Start time: 7:00 PM ET
In the Canadiens region (French): RDS
In the Senators region (English): TSN5
Montreal Canadiens Projected Line-Up
#Habs projected lines vs #Sens: Pacioretty-Plekanec-Gallagher Eller-Galchenyuk-Kassian Fleischmann-Desharnais-Weise De la Rose-Mitchell-DSP
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) October 3, 2015
#Habs projected D & G vs #Sens: Emelin – Petry Beaulieu – Gilbert Tinordi – Pateryn Tokarski starting Condon
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) October 3, 2015
Ottawa Senators Projected Line-Up
#Sens lines vs #Habs: Hoffmann – Turris – Stone Michalek – Zibanejad – Ryan MacArthur – Pageau – Lazar Chiasson – Smith – Neil
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) October 3, 2015
#Sens D & G vs #Habs: Wiercioch – Karlsson Methot – Ceci Cowen – Borowiecki O’Connor Anderson
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) October 3, 2015
Check out the enemy over at SilverSeven.
