Montreal @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Montreal 2, Ottawa 1

The Montreal Canadiens rebounded from perhaps their most devastating loss with one of their best efforts of the season but still face an uphill climb to advance to the postseason. After ending a five-game slide (0-4-1) with an overtime victory at Washington, the Canadiens will wrap up a three-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Montreal blew a two-goal lead in the third period of a 4-3 loss at league-worst Detroit on Tuesday before bouncing back to squeeze out a 4-3 overtime win in Washington on Thursday. "I liked our effort from start to finish," coach Claude Julien said after the game. "We spoke about the importance of playing 60 minutes and we were able to do it," The Canadiens own an eight-game point streak against Ottawa, which fell to 3-2-0 on its six-game homestand with a 5-1 drubbing by Winnipeg on Thursday. “We just didn’t play smart enough. That’s really what it is," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "We’ve got to be a little harder offensively.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: TVAS, CITY, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet East

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (28-27-8): Defenseman Ben Chiarot scored in the first minute of overtime to cap a two-goal game, giving him a career-high tying 20 points to go along with nine tallies. "He's always had a good shot. We've seen it all season long," Julien said of Chiarot, who also logged a game-high 28:05 of ice time. "That's the reason why he was on the power play when (Shea) Weber was out." Defense partner Weber, in his second game since returning from injury, matched last season's total with his 14th goal.

ABOUT THE SENATORS (21-29-11): Nick Paul scored the lone goal in Thursday's loss to go along with four shots on net and three blocked shots while winning six of nine faceoffs. "He does a little bit of everything. He can play on any line," Smith said. "We're going to need him down the stretch here because he's a guy who shows up to play every night." Forward Vladislav Namestnikov could be part of a trade after he was held out of Thursday's game while contract talks reportedly continue between center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and the club.

OVERTIME

1. Canadiens F Brendan Gallagher scored his 20th goal Thursday but has only six tallies in 30 games versus Ottawa.

2. Senators F Bobby Ryan, who spoke to the media Friday about his alcohol issues, hopes to be back in the lineup within two weeks.

3. Montreal has won two of three meetings this season, with each of them decided in overtime.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Senators 2