Ottawa hosts Montreal on Thursday after the Habs won Game 1 of this home-andhome series.
Mum’s the word on whether Ottawa Senators centre Zack Smith will continue to wear a half-visor on his helmet.
“At this point, I don’t mind playing with it, but we’ll see,” Smith said Wednesday. “My mom and my wife would be a lot happier if I kept it on, so sometimes that has more to do with the decision than what I want.”
Smith finished up Tuesday’s game against Montreal on a unit with Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, but it’s expected he’ll be back with Magnus Paajarvi and Tom Pyatt for Thursday’s rematch.
Meanwhile, Max Domi had the hot hand in the Canadiens’ 5-2 win over the Senators, scoring twice and adding an assist. At the other end, the line of Colin White, Mark Stone and Brady Tkachuk didn’t do its job defensively. With a better home-ice matchup, though, White and his linemates could find a few more openings to take advantage of at Canadian Tire Centre.
Here are five things to watch for when the Senators host Montreal Thursday:
1. Price check
For a period and a half on Tuesday, the Canadiens’ Carey Price and the Senators’ Craig Anderson went toe to toe in a great goaltending matchup. From there, though, Price had the answers and Anderson didn’t. Now, it’s Anderson’s chance to turn the tables on home ice.
2. Revenge
The Senators know they had more to give against Montreal. Fortunately for them, they don’t have to wait long for another crack to even the score.
3. Inconsistency
If we’ve seen it once, we’ve seen it a dozen times this year. The Senators look fine, in control, and suddenly, a few minutes later, they’ve yielded two or three quick goals. Cleaning up their act continues to be an issue.
4. Controlling the crowd
Judging by the last non-Erik Karlsson-inspired crowd of less than 11,000 at CTC, Senators fans aren’t racing to sell out the rink these days. But with Montreal in town, the Habs faithful have can take over the building in numbers and voice.
5. Power-play pressure
The Senators’ success with the man advantage has slipped lately (1-for11 in the past five games) and they blew a chance to score early against Montreal on Tuesday. Restoring that edge will go a long way toward producing a much-needed victory.