Ottawa Senators hope to build on their recent victory over Philadelphia Flyers against Montreal Canadiens with this game against them. While missing many of their key players, young star Brady Tkachuk will look to continue his impressive start this season.
Joonas Korpisalo will make his Sens debut this evening as they look to improve on last season’s finish. He signed an extensive free agent contract and hopes that can help this team perform even better than the past season’s end result.
Match Preview
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team competing in the National Hockey League (NHL). Based out of Ottawa, Ontario and Canada respectively, they host their home games at the 18,652-seat Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators began this season under great uncertainty after trading Erik Karlsson and making some questionable moves during free agency, yet have managed to be very competitive in the Atlantic Division, only two points back of first place but with room for improvement with regards to defence.
Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach are leading their team’s top line. This trio has proven incredibly effective; making a mark as one of the league’s premier lines. On defense, Thomas Chabot and Max Lajoie lead this unit while rookie Brady Tkachuk has made an impressionful contribution as well. Looking ahead, this squad hopes to continue its winning ways against division rivals!
Prediction
Brady Tkachuk is on an impressive scoring run and could be instrumental in Ottawa generating enough scoring chances to cover another spread-covering victory. He leads Ottawa in assists and points, and averages more than two shots per game.
The Canadiens are steadily improving statistically, yet their defensive structure remains an area of weakness. Over their last 12 games they have allowed 10 or more high-danger chances at even strength – an alarming statistic indeed!
Sam Montembault has been an outstanding goalie for Montreal, but Carey Price will take over as their starter on Thursday. They hope he can help them break out of their current slump; Montembault currently boasts a respectable 2.77 goals against average and.903 save percentage, making him an invaluable road player; his ability to steal games could prove critical in Montreal’s playoff hopes down the line; tonight he’ll need another exceptional showing against Ottawa Senators later.
Lineups
The Senators have made several adjustments to their lineup for tonight’s matchup against Montreal. Keith Kinkaid will likely start in goal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi could join him.
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based out of Ottawa, Ontario in Canada and currently participate in the Atlantic Division in Eastern Conference of National Hockey League (NHL). Established as an expansion franchise in 1992 by the Estate of Eugene Melnyk, they currently boast one of Canada’s oldest hockey traditions and fan bases.
The Senators boast several players with extensive NHL experience, such as Daniel Alfredsson, Bobby Ryan, Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson (all-time regular season points and playoff points leader; won Norris Trophy twice in 2012 and 2015). Furthermore, notable players like Alex Kovalev have played for the club and their home arena is Canadian Tire Centre.
Match Odds
Brady Tkachuk has been an outstanding performer for Ottawa this season and should have plenty of chances to exploit Montreal’s porous defense. Based on reports and odds from legal casino and betting platforms in Ontario, I’m going with an Over 4.5 goals bet here.
The Senators opened as -180 favorites in this matchup and have since seen that figure increase to -205 – which I find surprising given their recent win streak and sit just five points shy of qualifying for playoffs.
Conclusion
Montreal has been an outstanding team recently, winning multiple goals in six of their last seven victories and consistently scoring multiples themselves. That alone is reason enough to pick them against Ottawa here; I also like fading Cam Talbot who has been inconsistent recently while Ottawa should find ways to score on him.
