The Montreal Canadiens are coming off convincing wins against the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets as they get set to face another Canadian team tonight, their division rivals Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre. The Habs will be looking to extend their undefeated streak at home while the Senators will look to even the season series between the two teams. Their first matchup - a Canadiens 3-1 victory, was a special moment for Mike Condon as it produced his first NHL win in his first NHL start. So far, Condon has shown that he only knows how to win as he is 4-0, having allowed only 6 goals on 108 shots. Thrusted into the starting goaltender role as Carey Price is on the sidelines this week, Condon has the opportunity to prove that he can play just as strongly night in and night out.
Head coach Michel Therrien is being consistent and will not tamper with a winning lineup and formula as forward Alex Semin will once again be watching the game from the press box. Devante Smith-Pelly played well enough with Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk to earn another opportunity to play with the Habs ‘2nd line’. David Desharnais’ line with Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann have dominated the past two games with a collective 14 points. Here is tonight’s lineup:
#Habs lines vs #Sens:
Pacioretty - Plekanec - Gallagher
Eller - Galchenyuk - DSP
Fleischmann- Desharnais- Weise
Byron - Mitchell - Flynn
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 3, 2015#Habs D & G vs #Sens:
Markov - Subban
Emelin - Petry
Beaulieu - Gilbert
Condon starting
Tokarski
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 3, 2015The Ottawa Senators will be missing their leading scorer Mark Stone as he is suspended 2 games for his illegal hit to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Landon Ferraro. On the other hand, the Senators will gladly welcome back forwards Curtis Lazar and Mike Hoffman to the lineup as they return from injuries. Craig Anderson gets the start in goal tonight and their forward lines should be:
Sens lines vs Habs
Hoffman-Turris-Lazar
Prince-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-Pageau-Chiasson
Puempel-Smith-Neil
Game on TSN5 (Sens region) 7:30pm
— Brent Wallace (@tsn_wally) November 3, 2015Lazar will get a big opportunity to play in Stone’s place on the Senators 1st line next to Kyle Turris and Hoffman. The Senators have performed well on the road so far this season as they sport a 4-1 record away from Ottawa.
Dave Cameron says the #Sens seem to play with more passion on the road. #Cbcott
— Dan Séguin (@SeguinSports) November 2, 2015The Canadiens and Senators have been building a true rivalry over the last 3 years, fueled by facing each other in 2 of the last 3 years of playoffs. I expect a competitive game tonight filled with emotion and intensity.
*** Edited to add Greg Pateryn news ***
This afternoon the Canadiens announced that Defenceman Greg Pateryn has been assigned to the Ice Caps on a conditioning stint. I think this is a smart move by the Habs. Pateryn has been a healthy scratch through 13 games. Everyone knows he is more than capable of playing on the bottom pairing but the Habs defence has for the most part been very solid and consistent. This will allow Pateryn to get into game situations and stay sharp and focused, without the risk of losing him on waivers. When the Canadiens do need him, there is no doubt that Pateryn will be ready.
Canadiens today assigned defenseman Greg Pateryn to the AHL St. John's IceCaps for conditioning purposes.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 3, 20155 Questions Heading Into Tonight’s Game:
1) Can Mike Condon continue his winning ways? Nothing he has done has suggested otherwise. I expect the Senators to try to rattle him and be in his face most of the night.
2) Tomas Plekanec had 2 goals the last time these teams faced off. Will he or Max Pacioretty rediscover the back of the net? It has been 7 games since he score and 4 games without a goal or an assist for Pacioretty. Is Pacioretty still hurting/recovering from his Summer knee injury?
3) How much longer can Therrien sit Semin for without further damaging his confidence? The longer Semin goes without playing, the less likely he will suit up again for the Canadiens… Would it be crazy to suggest that Semin plays a game with Plekanec and Pacioretty and move Gallagher next to Eller and Galchenyuk in an effort to get both lines going?
4) Erik Karlsson has not scored a goal this season although he has 11 assists on the year. Why do I get the feeling that changes tonight?
5) Do you think Dustin Byfuglien should have been suspended for his hit on Sunday to Brendan Gallagher? The NHL decided not suspend him after his hearing this morning. While many chalk up the severity of the hit due to the height discrepancy between the two players, Byfuglien has a history of dirty hits. According to Darren Dreger who appeared on TSN 690 radio this morning, the league is paying special attention to Byfuglien as he has already been warned for 3 borderline hits this season. If the NHL is serious about cutting down on hits to the head and dangerous plays, they should have come down on him, just as they did Mark Stone. Now it will be 4 warnings to Byfuglien, how many more chances will he get before someone gets severely injured?
Puck drops at 7:30pm.
Cheers and enjoy the game! Follow @Jenbcutler