Cole Caufield made sure Montreal left Trois-Rivières with the win.
His two goals - one to tie it in the third period and another to finish it in overtime - pushed the Canadiens past the Senators 3-2 Monday night in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game at Colisée Vidéotron, handing Ottawa a loss in its first preseason action.
The Senators had the better of the opening moments, and newcomer William Eklund gave them an early spark. Just 89 seconds into his first preseason game with Ottawa, Eklund finished off a slick sequence with Dylan Cozens, who carried the puck behind the net before feeding it back to Eklund for the opening goal.
Montreal answered quickly. Three minutes later, defenseman Jayden Struble beat Samuel Ersson with a low shot to the short side and pulled the Canadiens level.
From there, the game settled into a tight battle until late in the second period, when Cozens switched from setup man to finisher. His first goal of the preseason restored Ottawa’s lead and gave him a two-point night.
The Sens took that 2-1 edge into the third period, but Caufield changed the script. His first goal of the night came on a low shot along the ice that slipped past Ersson, who appeared to be reading a pass across the crease. Then in overtime, Caufield ended it with a hard wrist shot that went under Ridly Greig’s stick and past Ersson.
Both clubs iced fairly strong NHL lineups, though the game still had plenty of preseason rough edges. Special teams were one of the messier areas: Montreal went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Ottawa finished 0-for-4.
The Canadiens also carried the play for long stretches and finished with a 36-20 edge in shots. Ersson played the full game in his first appearance and stopped 33 pucks, and Travis Green said afterward that he was Ottawa’s best player on the night.
The Senators are back Wednesday for a pair of split-squad games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Most of Ottawa’s top players are expected to stay home and face Toronto at Canadian Tire Centre, while the rest of the group heads on the road. Both games start at 7 p.m.
Ottawa will get another crack at Montreal to close out the preseason Saturday night. That too will be a split-squad setup, with games in Ottawa and Montreal at 7 p.m.
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Senators Let Late Lead Slip But One Early Sign Stood Out
The Senators preseason opener in Quebec City offered a little of everything, from an early jolt of offense to the kind of late-game wobble that can still be filed away as August exhibition hockey. Dylan Cozens and William Eklund scored for Ottawa in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens at the Centre Vidotron, while Samuel Ersson stopped 33 shots and gave the club a long look at a goalie who had to work through plenty of traffic.
For president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios, the result mattered less than the tone, and there was reason for Ottawa to like parts of what it saw. The Senators looked organized enough to build a lead and competitive enough to carry a preseason game into overtime, even if the finish slipped away, and Staios pointed to the exhibition setting as a reminder that this was about process more than points. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Open Preseason With One Roster Battle Fans Will Watch Closely
The Senators get their preseason underway against Montreal, and the early focus is already less on the result than on how a few important pieces fit together. Ottawa has been sorting through camp combinations, with Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund drawing attention as part of a group that has looked connected in practice, while Andre Burakovsky is trying to bounce back after a tough previous season and reestablish himself in a meaningful role.
Carter Yakemchuk also enters the opener with something to prove, as the young defenseman is battling for a regular roster spot and needs to show he can hold up better without the puck. In a game like this, the Senators are not just checking off preseason boxes. They are using it to measure who is ready to push deeper into the lineup and who still has work to do before opening night arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Senators First Preseason Look Put The Spotlight On New Faces
The Senators first preseason look came in Saint-Boniface, Qubec, where the Kraft Hockeyville spotlight was paired with a lineup that was light on established stars and heavy on new faces. With many of Ottawas regulars resting, the game had the familiar preseason feel of uneven combinations, scattered penalties and a bench trying to sort out who fits where, but it also offered an early glimpse at the kind of depth the club will need once the games count.
William Eklund made sure his first shift in a Senators jersey was hard to miss, giving Ottawa an early spark with Dylan Cozens involved in the sequence. Cozens also showed up on the scoresheet later, helping keep the Senators in front late in the second period as the clubs mix-and-match roster tried to hold together against Montreal, a small snapshot of how much these exhibition games can reveal without telling the whole story. [Read more 🡒]