After a few days off, the Montreal Canadiens will return Friday night to take on the Ottawa Senators. While the nation capital’s team has already booked its place in the playoffs, it’s still possible for the Habs to catch up with them in the standings. Both teams have four games left, and the Sens have a three-point lead. After Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, coach Martin St-Louis said he’d like to catch up to them: “It’s like when I’m running, I’m not looking over my shoulder to see who’s coming, I’m looking ahead and trying to catch the guy in front. Maybe I’ll overtake him, maybe I won’t, but I’m going to try.”

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At practice, Emil Heineman, who had missed the last two games, was a full participant, but there’s no word yet on his availability for the game. He alternated on the fourth line with Michael Pezzetta. Ivan Demidov was expected to land in Toronto on April 10 at 7:00 PM and should join the team in Toronto on Saturday, according to RG.org’s Marco D’Amico.

The Habs travel itinerary includes a morning skate on Saturday, but considering they’re playing back-to-back, it might just get cancelled or be a very light skate for the Canadiens to meet their new teammate. Don’t expect him to play Saturday in Toronto, though. He is apparently set to make his NHL debut on Monday night in Montreal against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Samuel Montembeault will be in net to take on Ottawa on Friday night, just like the last time the two teams met and Montreal signed a 6-3 win. The netminder has a 3-3-0 record against the hosts with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage.

Ottawa has yet to reveal who will be manning their net, Linus Ullmark was on duty in last month’s defeat and has a 3-4-0 record against the Habs with a 3.53 GAA and a .869 SP. Meanwhile, backup Anton Forsberg is 6-0-0 when facing them with a 2.62 GAA and a .924 SP.

Up front, Brendan Gallagher now has 29 career points against the Sens in 47 games, thanks to his three-point performance in March. Nick Suzuki comes in second place with 19 points in 28 games, followed by Josh Anderson with 16 points in 33 tilts.

Meanwhile, Claude Giroux will be looking for the 40th point of his career against the Canadiens; he has 39 in 50 games so far. Brady Tkachuk is second with 27 points in 30 duels, while Drake Batherson comes in 3rd place with 25 points in 27 games.

If the Canadiens prevail on Friday night, they will have swept the season series since they’ve won the three duels, outscoring Ottawa 15-6. Looking back, however, Ottawa has won seven of the last 10 meetings, meaning the Habs were long overdue for some success against their bitter rivals.

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