Ottawa @ Montreal preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2018 ) Montreal 5, Ottawa 2

The Montreal Canadiens soothed the sting of an embarrassing performance with their fourth win in five games last time out and look to continue moving forward when they host the rival Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Canadiens had won three in a row, including a pair against Ottawa, before getting blitzed in Minnesota 7-1 on Tuesday but opened a three-game homestand two nights later with a 6-4 triumph over Carolina.

“We definitely knew we needed to bounce back after a hard one in Minnesota, and I thought we came out and played a pretty solid game,” Montreal goaltender Carey Price (298 career wins) told reporters after the team scored four of the seven goals in a wild third period on Thursday. The Canadiens are 8-1-1 in the last 10 games of the all-time series - including 5-2 wins on Dec. 4 and 6 - while the Senators visit Montreal after posting a solid 4-2 victory at Detroit on Friday. Mark Stone recorded the go-ahead goal and Chris Tierney scored twice for Ottawa, which won for the second time in six games after capturing three in a row. Stone has registered four of his team-high 16 goals and six of his club-best 36 points in three games against the Canadiens this season, but the Senators likely will be without Matt Duchene (lower body), who has three points versus Montreal in 2018-19.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA

ABOUT THE SENATORS (14-15-4): Thomas Chabot leads all NHL defensemen with 35 points after recording a goal and an assist in Friday’s victory, which followed a stretch during which he was kept off the scoresheet in four of five games. Ryan Dzingel registered a pair of assists Friday, giving him seven points in his last eight contests, while Tierney tallied twice in the win after enduring a 10-game goal-scoring drought. Rookie Brady Tkachuk has gone eight games without a point after posting 16 in the first 14 contests of his NHL career.

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (16-11-5): Defenseman Jeff Petry is on one of the best runs of his career as he has collected four goals and a pair of assists during a four-game point streak and is tied for third on the team in scoring with 24 points. “I’m finding the net,” Petry told reporters. “It’s frustrating when you hit a post or you miss the net, which is on me, but I knew if I kept shooting, eventually it was going to go in.” Max Domi (team-best 32 points) and linemate Jonathan Drouin (27) each notched an assist on Thursday and have combined for nine points in three games against the Senators this season.

OVERTIME

1. Ottawa D Stefan Elliott recorded an assist on Friday for his first point in the NHL since Jan. 7, 2016 with Arizona.

2. Montreal RW Andrew Shaw has registered two goals and four assists during his six-game point streak.

3. The Canadiens are 0-for-18 on the power play over their last six meetings with the Senators.

PREDICTION: Canadiens 5, Senators 2