The Ottawa Senators face the Montreal Canadiens with both teams looking to improve in the Atlantic Division. The Senators have a 23-23-3 record and have the second-worst record in the division but have won their last three games. The Canadiens have a 20-26-4 record and with three losses in a row are in last place in the Atlantic Division. Both teams look to improve in the division and the Eastern Conference ahead of the All-Star break and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Senators are having a rough season with their offense struggling and scoring only 2.96 goals per game. Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, and Tim Stützle have scored 58 goals and 83 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Mathieu Joseph and Tyler Motte can step up as they play a pivotal role in the forward unit but have only scored six goals and 13 assists on the season thus far.
The defense has also struggled, allowing 3.16 goals per game but recently the unit has stepped up, allowing only three goals in the last three games. Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson have combined for 5.0 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has also stepped up with Travis Hamonic and Nick Holden creating turnovers in the defensive zone and limiting shots on the net. The hope is that goaltender Anton Forsberg steps up in the net as he has a .906 save percentage and a 3.09 goals-against average on 748 shots.