Plucky Sens, Habs defying naysayers
After their atrocious 2017-18 seasons and their unsettling summers with their now long gone captains, it was generally assumed that both the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators would be in for bumpy rides to start the current campaign.
Well, guess again.
As the Senators and Canadiens meet for the first time this season — Saturday beginning 7 p.m. at Canadian Tire Centre — they’ve already raised eyebrows. Instead of challenging for the basement in the Eastern Conference, they’re in the thick of the race for a playoff position. In fact, the Canadiens .750 winning percentage ranks fifth in the NHL.
“They’ve played terrific, but I’m not surprised,” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “When I sit in my office and look at their lineup, I don’t know why people were not expecting them to be good. They’ve got four solid lines of good hockey players that are coming at you, with a terrific goaltender.”
Boucher says picking up a few victories late in regulation — including against St. Louis Wednesday — has given the Canadiens an additional jump.
“We’re expecting a team that is very much ‘on’ right now and they’ve developed some intangibles with late wins.”
BEWARE THE EARLY WAVE
Idle since defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Monday, it could take some time for the Senators to rediscover their game legs. Goaltender Craig Anderson may need to be very sharp early. “They have a lot of pace, they roll four lines pretty good and they come at you in waves,” said centre Chris Tierney. “If you’re not sharp and not working hard and paying attention out there, they are going to make you pay.”
After missing the past two games to nurse a lower body injury — speculation is it’s either groin or hamstring related — Ryan Dzingel will be back against Montreal.
The Senators took a look at the schedule and played the long game, not wanting to risk being without Dzingel for an extended period.
“We had a lot of time off,” said Dzingel, who will likely step into the spot of injured rookie Brady
Tkachuk, playing alongside Chris Tierney and Mark Stone.
“It was just a precautionary thing to make sure it didn’t stretch out for the whole season. I feel a lot better now. It was a full team decision and I’m glad they helped me out with that. Guys who are playing don’t want to take time off, so it’s hard to say yes to that. But it was a good idea.”
CECI REMAINS OUT
Boucher wasn’t committing to playing with 12 forwards against the Canadiens, but it appears the team is leaning that way. With Cody Ceci still out (he skated in individual drills Friday before leaving for main practice), the Senators have only six defencemen in Ottawa.
If Max McCormick isn’t ready to return from his groin injury, Nick Paul will be inserted into the lineup.
The start of the season has been a whirlwind for Nick Paul. He was in Winnipeg late last week, preparing to suit up for Belleville against the Manitoba Moose, when he was recalled by the Senators. Boucher, however, went with only 11 forwards, meaning Paul was a healthy scratch against Los Angeles and Dallas.
Sent back to Belleville on Tuesday, he scored twice in the B-Sens home opener on Wednesday. Then came Tkachuk’s leg injury, prompting another recall Friday.
Paul, the last remaining piece of the Jason Spezza trade, says an attitude adjustment has been vital.
“The biggest thing I worked on this summer is just being very positive,” he said. “I’m here. I get to work every day and show what I have in front of the coaches. If I get in (to a game), awesome, that’s what I’m looking for. If not, it’s nothing personal.”
WAITING ON THE COMPARISONS
Tkachuk’s injury is disappointing on so many levels, including the fact fans will have to wait for a head to head battle against Canadiens rookie centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi and Tkachuk went third and fourth overall in the NHL draft in June … Mikkel Boedker on the spinning, behind the net move from Matt Duchene that set up his first goal with Senators: “You’ve got to expect the unexpected with a good player like that, just be ready,” he said. “We’ve been talking about how we can be more creative and make some more plays and when down (around the net) with creative guys, just trust your instinct and hopefully, he sees the same. He did and he made a great pass.”… Senators rookies Alex Formenton and Max Lajoie came to the club’s Halloween Party earlier this week dressed as a horse. The big question: who got to wear the horse’s head and who got to wear the other end? “Formy got the back end, but it only lasted about 10 minutes before his back got sore,” said Lajoie.
JEAN LEVAC
kwarren@postmedia.com