Pat Hickey looks at five things you should know about the Canadiens-senators game Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
1. The matchup
This is the second of four meetings between these Atlantic Division rivals and the Canadiens were 2-1 road winners in the first game on Feb. 26. The Canadiens should be more rested because the Senators will be playing the second game in a back-to-back situation after playing the Philadelphia Flyers at home on Friday. Montreal is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Dallas Thursday and has a 5-3-2 record in its last 10 games. Ottawa went into the Flyers game on three-game losing streak and was 2-8-0 in its previous 10.
2. Allen will keep busy
Goaltender Jake Allen said he was tired Thursday after playing his first game since he suffered
a groin injury on Jan. 12, but expect to see a lot of him down the stretch while waiting for Carey Price to return from his interminable rehab from minor knee surgery. Allen has a 5-16-3
record, which might have been a little better if he had received more offensive support. He has two shutouts among his five wins and he has a decent 3.18 goals-against average with a
.900 save percentage.
3. Cole on a roll
Cole Caufield was the pre-season favourite to win rookie of the year honours, but a slow start and a detour to the minors dashed those hopes. The arrival of head coach Martin St. Louis has put Caufield's young career back on track and he is playing like a Calder Trophy candidate. In the 17 games under St. Louis's watch, Caufield has collected 11 goals and 10 assists and he ranks in the top 10 in rookie points (27) and goals (12). He's currently on a three-game scoring streak, with four goals and two assists.
4. Bringing on the excitement
The Canadiens' brain trust of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes said they wanted to bring excitement back to the game and the early returns are encouraging. The Canadiens have been at the bottom of the league in offence after hovering a shade over two goals a game over the first half of the season. They are now averaging 2.48 goals a game and have produced at least three goals in 13 of their last 14 starts. The one exception was that 2-1 win over Ottawa.
5. Tkachuk haunts Canadiens
Montreal may never live down picking Jesperi Kotkaniemi over Brady Tkachuk, a physical power forward who leads the Senators in points (44) and penalty minutes (98). Josh Norris is the Senators' top goal scorer with 24, four more than Tkachuk, while Alex Formenton, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson each have 13. Ottawa will be without standout defenceman Thomas Chabot, who broke his hand in Wednesday's loss to Columbus and is finished for the season.