SENATORS AT CANADIENS
Bell Centre, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Sportsnet East, CITY, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio 690.
The matchup: The general rule is that rivalries are forged by playoff battles and these teams have met twice in the past three seasons with each team winning a series. The Canadiens won in the first round last season, but there’s a lingering feeling in the nation’s capital that the Senators, who won three of four regular-season games, were undone by bad breaks and questionable officiating. This is the second of five meetings this season and Tomas Plekanec scored twice as the Canadiens won 3-1 in Ottawa on Oct. 11.
Third line rising: The Canadiens have won two in a row and the No. 3 line of Dale Weise, David Desharnais and Tomas Fleischmann has led the way offensively. Weise had a hat-trick last Friday in Calgary and Desharnais shares the team scoring lead with 12 points.
Backing up in style: Goaltender Carey Price is out for at least a week with a lower-body injury, but backup Mike Condon has stepped up and he led the Canadiens to wins over Calgary and Winnipeg to run his record to 4-0. He stopped 48 of 51 shots in the weekend wins and he leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.51) and save percentage (.944).
Here come the Sens: Ottawa is coming off a 5-3 home loss to Detroit and coach Dave Cameron is looking forward to the Bell Centre because he says his team plays with more emotion on the road. The Senators are 4-1 on the road, but 1-3-2 at home. Mark Stone leads the offence with three goals and 13 points, but he won’t be in Montreal. He has been suspended two games for an illegal check to the head of Detroit’s Landon Ferraro Saturday night. Kyle Turris has 12 points, including a team-high seven goals. There’s no word on who will start in goal. Craig Anderson has had the bulk of the work, but Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond has better numbers and was 2-0 against the Canadiens last season.
Injury update: Price is the only absentee from the Montreal lineup. Ottawa had some good news Monday as Mike Hoffman (lower-body injury) and Curtis Lazar (upper-body injury) were cleared to play. Clarke MacArthur is out with a concussion while defenceman Chris Phillips is a long-term casualty with a back injury.
Looking ahead: This is the second game in a four-game homestand. The New York Islanders are in the Bell Centre Thursday followed by the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
phickey@montrealgazette.com
