Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Game 49: Montreal Canadiens @ Ottawa Senators

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+

For the fourth time of what will be five starts since returning from his conditioning loan in the AHL, Samuel Montembeault will face a non-playoff team as the Montreal Canadiens attempt to rebuild his confidence and get him back to the level he’s shown for the past couple of years. So far, the results have been there with a 3-0-1 record since December 30, and that’s the form the organization would like to see him continue.

The team he’ll face tonight is the Ottawa Senators, who have slipped to the back of the pack in the chase for the playoffs, just one point up on last place in the Eastern Conference. It shouldn’t take a great deal of effort for Montembeault to outplay Leevi Merilainen at the opposite end considering the Finnish netminder’s .868 save percentage on the season and the fact that he’s allowed at least three goals four times in the past five games.

After a gruelling stretch for Montreal, a couple of days off await them following this game before they return to play at home. There are no more back-to-backs to be played between now and the Olympic break, and that’s good because there are some tough teams to play over those final eight games before the pause. The Habs need to put whatever energy they have left into this game, separate themselves even further from an Atlantic Division rival, and set themselves up for the upcoming difficult schedule.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing

#20 Juraj Slafkovský
#91 Oliver Kapanen
#93 Ivan Demidov

#13 Cole Caufield
#14 Nick Suzuki
#85 Alexandre Texier

#17 Josh Anderson
#24 Phillip Danault
#11 Brendan Gallagher

#76 Zachary Bolduc
#71 Jake Evans
#90 Joe Veleno

Left Defence
Right Defence

#8 Mike Matheson
#53 Noah Dobson

#48 Lane Hutson
#45 Alexandre Carrier

#21 Kaiden Guhle
#72 Arber Xhekaj

Starter
Backup

#35 Samuel Montembeault
#75 Jakub Dobeš

Scratched: Sammy Blais, Jayden Struble
Injured: Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook

Ottawa Senators projected lineup

Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing

Fabian Zetterlund
Tim Stützle
Drake Batherson

Brady Tkachuk
Dylan Cozens
Ridly Greig

Michael Amadio
Shane Pinto
Claude Giroux

Nick Cousins
Lars Eller
David Perron

Left Defence
Right Defence

Jake Sanderson
Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot
Nick Jensen

Tyler Kleven
Jordan Spence

Starter
Backup

Leevi Merilainen
James Reimer