SENATORS OVERPOWER CANADIENS
As Ottawa goes with a veteran lineup against a bunch of Habs youngsters.
The Canadiens arrived in the nation’s capital with a bunch of youngsters hoping to make an impression, but they collectively came up short as the Ottawa Senators defeated the visitors 5-2 Wednesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators went with a veteran lineup although Jason Spezza and goaltender Craig Anderson were scratched after experiencing tweaks of some sort. Good start: Rookie defenceman Magnus Nygren provided the Canadiens with their only lead when he took a pass from Lars Eller and ripped a shot past Andrew Hammond at 1:54 of the first period. High-percentage play: Ottawa was outshot 10-5 in the first period but managed to grab a 2-1 lead. Newcomers Clarke MacArthur and Bobby Ryan each scored in the period. Piling it on: Peter Budaj stopped Milan Michalek on t wo shots from close range early in the second period but Michalek scored on a goalmouth scramble 17:47. The Senators added two more goals in the third period as Cory Conacher tipped Patrick Wiercioch’s shot from the blue line for a power-play goal and Mika Zibanejad scored on a rebound. Erik Karlsson, the last player to win the Norris Trophy who wasn’t named P.K. Subban, collected three assists. Too little, too late: Raphael Diaz scored at 14:46 of the third period to complete the scoring. The Canadiens learned that hockey is a game of inches earlier in the period as Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk and Christian Thomas each hit a post. A question of experience, part one: Montreal defenceman Darren Dietz l ooked like a rookie as Ryan, the Senators’ prime off-season acquisition, went around him on a power play late in the first period and beat Budaj to give Ottawa its first lead at 2-1. A question of experience, part two: The Canadiens’ defence corps had played a total of 99 regular-season NHL games and Raphael Diaz accounted for 82 of those. Ottawa’s Chris Phillips has played 1,073 games. Early showers: Travis Moen and Ottawa’s Fredrik Claessen were assessed fighting majors and game misconducts for showing up late to a scrap between Ryan White and Chris Neil in the second period. Neil also received a major for a first-period fight with Nick Tarnasky. White ran his penalty total for the night to 27 minutes with a misconduct for a third-period wrestling match with Zach Kassian. Empty seats: There were plenty of good seats available. The attendance was announced as 16,194 and few fans stayed around for the end of the game. What’s next: The Canadiens wrap up their exhibition schedule Thursday night when the Senators are at the Bell Centre for a rematch. The Canadiens open the regular season Tuesday with a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.