The Senators and Canadiens meet Monday night in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game in the "neutral" site of Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
Two Atlantic Division rivals will renew hostilities on a new battleground Monday night.
The Senators will open their brief preseason against the Montreal Canadiens in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières. Face-off is at 7 pm on Sportsnet One and TVA Sports.
Although the matchup is officially listed as a neutral-site game, the Senators are under no illusions about where the crowd's loyalties will lie. Fans were invited to Monday morning’s practice, where a sea of red, white and blue greeted the Canadiens with chants of “Go Habs Go” before the home side had even taken the ice.
Last year’s memorable 5-0 preseason loss to Montreal was also played on supposedly neutral ground, and in another Quebec Videotron building. That one took place at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, where the crowd was also heavily behind the Canadiens.
It was a miserable night for the Senators all around. Beyond being shut out, they were drawn into several scraps that helped the two teams combine for 150 penalty minutes. Arber and Florian Xhekaj were at the centre of it all, with each Montreal brother fighting twice.
Three days later, Ottawa traded Zack MacEwen to the New Jersey Devils for heavyweight Kurtis MacDermid, adding one of the NHL’s most established enforcers.
MacDermid will not be available for Monday’s rematch, but that probably won't stop the two teams from being disagreeable.
The lineups should also help raise the competitive level. Based on the game-day skates, both teams are expected to dress a pile of established NHL players.
The Senators will counter with a veteran-heavy lineup featuring Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Jake Sanderson, Jordan Spence and their most notable off-season additions. Tim Stützle skated as an extra and won't play. Thomas Chabot and Linus Ullmark both stayed back in Ottawa.
Montreal’s group includes Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and both Xhekaj brothers
Monday will provide the first game action in a Senators uniform for William Eklund. He is expected to skate on the left side of Cozens, opposite his close friend and former San Jose teammate Fabian Zetterlund.
Head coach Travis Green has kept the trio together throughout training camp, but Monday will provide the first meaningful opportunity to see whether their apparent chemistry carries over from practices and scrimmages.
According to Senators' host Jackson Starr, Andre Burakovsky, another new addition, is expected to play with Stephen Halliday and Batherson.
Samuel Blais will also make his Senators debut in familiar surroundings after signing as a free agent this summer. Blais had 5 points in 13 games for the Canadiens last season and 38 points in 35 games for their AHL team in Laval.
Samuel Ersson is expected to wear the Sens jersey for the first time in a game after being acquired from Toronto during the off-season. Leevi Meriläinen and prospect Jackson Parsons were the other goaltenders on the ice Monday morning.
It may be only the first game of a very short preseason, but there should be no shortage of reasons to watch. And if the past two preseasons are any indication, the “friendly” part of this exhibition game may not last very long.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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