The Ottawa Senators opened their preseason in Saint-Boniface, Québec, and the result was a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens in a Kraft Hockeyville game that had plenty going on for a September tune-up. The final score mattered less than the looks the Sens got from a lineup missing most of its stars, especially on defense, but there were still a few performances worth paying attention to.
Ottawa struck first just over two minutes into the game when William Eklund buried a feed from Dylan Cozens on Cozens’ very first shift in a Senators jersey. Before that shift ended, Cozens also tried to fight someone, and Zetterlund drew a penalty, so the fit looked pretty immediate. Montreal answered soon after its penalty expired to make it 1-1.
The first period had real pace to it, even if the Senators’ power play didn’t do much with its chances. That wasn’t especially surprising given the number of regulars sitting out, and Ottawa’s puck-moving problems showed up quickly once Montreal settled in. The Habs controlled much of the rest of the opening frame, while Ottawa’s new backup Sam Ersson saw a lot of work and handled it well.
Ottawa’s next chance with the man advantage didn’t go much better, and Drayson Batherson wiped out part of it with a bad penalty of his own. The Canadiens were also the better team during 4-on-4 play. Midway through the period, Florian Xhekaj delivered an illegal hit on Cozens, leaving him shaken up on the bench, though he did not miss a shift.
The Senators spent much of the opening 20 minutes struggling to get the puck out of their end, but that was a tough stretch to judge too harshly with most of their best puck movers out. Ersson’s early workload was one of the few clear positives.
At the start of the second period, Ottawa went back on the penalty kill after a very soft call on Pinto, but the Sens survived that one and looked a little better at even strength. Still, the puck movement remained sluggish. Their second power play was only marginally improved, and they even gave up two shorthanded chances.
Late in the period, Touré was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Montreal another look with its top power-play group. Ottawa killed it off, and the game stayed tied until the final seconds of the period, when the Cozens line struck again. This time it was the Workhorse from Whitehorse himself getting on the board to put the Sens ahead 2-1.
The third period was more balanced, and Ottawa looked more awake. The Cozens line kept standing out, but halfway through the frame the Senators took a penalty, and Montreal cashed in after a long delayed-power-play sequence to even things at 2-2.
From there, the Canadiens pressed hard. Ersson was tested repeatedly as Montreal piled up chance after chance, and after one more penalty kill Ottawa immediately took another. The Sens managed to survive and get the game to overtime.
Three-on-three did not go Ottawa’s way. The Senators rolled out some unusual combinations, including a Greig-to-Spence chance that stood out as their best look. Montreal controlled most of the action, and Cole Caufield finished it off for the 3-2 win.
Sam Ersson was the biggest bright spot for Ottawa. Montreal had most of its better players in the lineup and spent long stretches with the puck, but Ersson looked steady throughout.
The Eklund-Cozens-Zetterlund line also made a strong impression, and Eklund in particular was hard to miss. Carter Yakemchuk stood out too, especially with smart reads and clean breakout passes, while the pairing with Kleven did not look like the answer.
Ridly Greig had a rough night, including a turnover on Montreal’s first goal and several shaky moments in his own zone. Batherson also had a difficult game, with poor penalties and a string of bad decisions. On the positive side, Sammy Blais drew notice for his play, and it was a nice touch seeing a Québec kid turn in a good showing in Québec.
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Montreal took control as the game wore on, though, and the shot count told the story well before the final whistle. The Canadiens generated far more of the play and eventually left with a 3-2 overtime win, a result that gave Ottawa a reminder of how much polish still needs to come in camp even after a promising start. [Read more 🡒]
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