The Montreal Canadiens had a rough night in their own zone, and the Ottawa Senators capitalized by beating them 5-2. While the defensive game wasn’t good, neither was the goaltending, as Samuel Montembeault showed that the good performance that he had on Friday may have been a fluke, as he went right back to his struggles on Tuesday night. It was a performance that took down the team with him early in the 2nd period.
The Montreal Canadiens fell 5–2 to the Ottawa Senators, marking their second straight loss.
Thoughts?
Les Canadiens de Montréal se sont inclinés 5–2 contre les Sénateurs d’Ottawa.
Prochain match: Habs vs Jets
Le 3 décembre à 19 h 30#GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/WIu4L9TEpV
— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) December 3, 2025
In fact, Montembeault was lucky that the Senators didn’t score more on him, as there were a lot of wide-open chances that they missed during the game. With the number of back-to-back games coming up for the Habs, the goaltending is becoming very concerning, in particular Montembeault, who continues to not make the big saves that his team needs from him. It has also led to the Habs skaters losing confidence in their game, and they come out flat the way that they did on Tuesday night. Montembeault finished the night with 24 saves on 29 shots for a disappointing .828 save percentage on the night.
Canadiens have an NHL-worst .844 save percentage in the 2nd period
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 3, 2025
There was a time when the Habs were able to outscore the goaltending issues that Montembeault created, but that is no longer the case, as the offence at even strength went completely dry on Tuesday night.
The only part of the game that really went well for the Canadiens on Tuesday was the power play, which went 2-for-3 on the night against the league’s 31st penalty kill. It was the one thing that gave the Habs some life during the 2nd period when things felt bleak after two quick goals were scored on them early in the frame.
Juraj Slafkovsky gets to build chemistry with Ivan Demidov on the Habs 2nd line while still playing on PP1 with Cole Caufield & Nick Suzuki.
Best of both worlds.
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 3, 2025
The power play actually even got the game started off on the right foot when the Canadiens opened the scoring just 3:37 into the 1st period. The play started when Zack Bolduc was robbed by Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark, who got banged up on the play, and it eventually led to a beautiful passing play where Cole Caufield sent over a cross-slot pass to Juraj Slafkovsky, who was able to easily put the puck into an open cage at the side of the net.
SHEEESH. 🥵
Fabian Zetterlund with quite the response. pic.twitter.com/lQCH5yKIKB
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) December 3, 2025
Unfortunately, the Habs couldn’t celebrate for long after the Senators tied the game just 24 seconds later. Tyler Kleven walked in through the Habs defence rather easily before he passed it back to the top of the slot to Fabian Zetterlund, who ripped the puck off the post and in by Montembeault. This goal was one that really hurt the Habs’ confidence for the rest of the period, as the Sens took control from that point.
Sweet feed alert! ⚠️
Brady Tkachuk finds Artem Zub who gives the @Senators the lead! pic.twitter.com/hepHIQ1U84
— NHL (@NHL) December 3, 2025
Late in the first period, Brady Tkachuk fed Artem Zub in the slot, where he easily beat Montembeault, who fell to his knees early on the shot. It was a goal that could have been prevented had Caufield or Bolduc covered Zub properly on his pinch; they could have cut Tkachuk’s pass off by the net.
Jake Sanderson crashes the crease and gets rewarded. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NgbeGGcnzZ
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) December 3, 2025
The struggles for the Canadiens continued in the 2nd period, as the Senators made it a 3-1 game 5:48 into the frame. Michael Amadio deked out Montembeault and hit the post, which led to the Habs players scrambling in the defensive zone as Jake Sanderson snuck his way to the front of the net, where he jammed a backhand past Montembeault, who had his leg inside the net already. The goal was just another example of Montembeault not being in the right position to prevent a goal from being scored.
That’s why you don’t give up, kids!
Drake Batherson’s persistence paid off. 😤 pic.twitter.com/622JC21xpO
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) December 3, 2025
Then, only 1:10 later, Drake Batherson dug out a rebound away from Montembeault’s glove and flipped the puck over the Habs goaltender to give the Senators a 4-1 lead.
Short-side SNIPE from Nick Suzuki. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/MHBxevdfWS
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) December 3, 2025
The Habs would get a goal back on the power play a few minutes later when Nick Suzuki beat Ullmark with a shot from inside the left faceoff circle at the side of the net. He cut the lead to 4-2, but it was all that the Habs had to show offensively on the night.
BRADY TKACHUK HAS HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON! pic.twitter.com/i9YIg9XCgp
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 3, 2025
In the 3rd period, it was Tkachuk’s turn to beat Montembeault and score with a shot from the slot, where he beat out the Habs’ man-on-man coverage to get open for that shot. This goal was the one that officially put the nail in the coffin, giving the Senators the 5-2 victory, which allowed them to pass the Habs in the standings.
The Canadiens could never get any consistent pressure at even strength during the game; they had their chances, but it was mainly all one-and-done opportunities. It was overall just a bad night for Montembeault and the skaters at 5-on-5, where the Senators outscored them 5-0 at even strength. Losing the way they did against a divisional rival felt embarrassing. It seemed like the whole team underachieved at even strength and it resulted in a loss where everyone comes out looking bad.
It will be a quick turnaround time for the Habs’ next game as they take on the Winnipeg Jets at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday. The Habs will also be honouring defenseman Andrei Markov with a pre-game ceremony. With that being said, the Habs will need to make sure to play much better than they did on Tuesday against the Sens, as Markov deserves to be honoured with a good game.
What are your thoughts on the Habs’ defensive system?