The Senators made hay on the power play Saturday night, but got more bad news on the injury front.
It’s safe to say the Senators leaned heavily on their power play Saturday night.
They faced the Montreal Canadiens in a pair of split-squad games to round out their 2026 preseason schedule, defeating the Canadiens 4-3 in Ottawa with what was essentially their main group, while their second group fell 4-2 in Montreal against a lineup that was much closer to the Habs’ full-strength roster.
Of the six goals the Senators scored in the two games on the night, all six came with the man advantage.
In Ottawa, the Senators had eight power-play opportunities and capitalized on four of them. In Montreal, they had five chances and scored twice.
Injuries
The bigger concern for the Senators, however, is the injury bug. Of course it is.
Jake Sanderson had been dealing with a minor injury throughout camp and finally made his preseason debut in Ottawa but left the game halfway through. Head coach Travis Green described the move as precautionary and said Sanderson should be ready for opening night.
Andre Burakovsky also left the game after a hit in the third period. Green had no update on him.
The game in Montreal also brought some bad news. Sens prospect Adam Nemec left the game with an upper-body injury after Florian Xhekaj drove him hard and awkwardly face first into the glass. Nemec was just hours away from his probable return to junior where he’s expected to have a big OHL season.
The Game in Montreal
As for the scoring, the Senators got goals in Montreal from Philip Tomasino and Tyler Boucher.
Tomasino patiently drifted into the slot before ripping a gorgeous shot into the top corner over Jacob Fowler. Boucher then showed off an equally impressive release, ripping a one-timer off a pass from Xavier Bourgault. Sam Ersson allowed 4 goals on 26 shots.
One of the most notable moments in the game was a fierce, bomb-filled tilt between six-foot-seven, 225 pound Djibril Touré and six-foot-five, 220 pound Tyler Thorpe. Touré absorbed some jarring upper cuts to the chin but then came back with a medley of left hands that landed.
The Montreal game also featured both Suzukis, as Nick faced his younger brother Ryan off the opening faceoff. Ryan is expected to be a key player for Belleville this season.
The Game in Ottawa
Veteran Claude Giroux continued what has been an excellent preseason with another strong performance, recording a goal and two assists. Drake Batherson and William Eklund also found the back of the net.
Burakovsky chipped in with a couple of assists, while Linus Ullmark stopped 20 of 23 shots from the Canadiens. Thomas Chabot was back in the lineup after missing time while his wife gave birth to a baby girl.
Final Cuts by Monday at 5pm
The Senators finish the preseason at 1-3-1 and now have a little more time to get healthy before their opener on October 3. The Canadiens, meanwhile, have only a couple of days before opening the regular season on September 29.
Final roster cuts must be made by Monday at 5 p.m. and they aren’t nearly as predictable as they were at the start of camp. Artem Zub remains out after trying to rehab a lower-body injury for the past five months, and his status has become a legitimate concern.
Warren Foegele and Kurtis McDermid are also out, while Ridly Greig still has to serve the remaining two games of his suspension stemming from last year’s playoff series against Carolina, when he punched Sean Walker during a scrum between whistles.
Shane Pinto is also a concern for the moment. Green said Pinto “came in sore” after Wednesday’s loss in Toronto. He hasn’t practiced since then and missed Saturday’s game. And then you had Sanderson and Burakovsky leave the finale early on Saturday.
As a result, there are suddenly all kinds of NHL opportunities opening up in Ottawa that at the beginning of training camp, few people expected. So the Senators have some difficult decisions to make.
Meanwhile, the NHL preseason may have been shortened this year, but somehow, in these parts, it still felt too long.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
