Habs Game 80: Important Canadiens Draft Lottery Odds At Play

The Montreal Canadiens (30-36-13) are set to face the Ottawa Senators (35-40-4). The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.

The Habs are fresh off a 3-2 loss in overtime versus the New York Islanders, though you’d be hard-pressed to argue the scoreline was not flattering toward Martin St-Louis’ team.

Sniper Cole Caufield managed to score his 25th goal of the season, while Jordan Harris scored his third, but for the most part, it was a rather poor outing for most of the lineup.

The game on Saturday will have important Draft Lottery implications, as the Canadiens and the Senators are locked into a battle to the bottom of the standings.

There’s always pride on the line, but emotions aside, this should be considered a ‘must-lose’ game for the Habs, as the Senators are currently sitting 27th in the NHL standings, just one point ahead of the Habs.

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The only lineup changes to expect will feature Cayden Primeau starting, while Jesse Ylonen will replace Tanner Pearson in the bottom six.

Defenceman Mike Matheson is in the midst of an impressive production streak that has included eight points in the last five games. Cole Caufield is the team’s hottest scorer, as he has scored four goals in the same stretch.

Ottawa always comes to play against Montreal, providing quite a challenge regardless of their recent form. This means despite Ottawa undergoing yet another underwhelming season, there are healthy odds they end up being the better team on Saturday night.

The Senators won both previous games this season, by a 6-2 and 4-1 score, respectively.

Forward Tim Stutzle always has a dominant performance versus the Canadiens, but he will not be in uniform on Saturday as he’s still recovering from an injury.

That leaves Brady Tkachuk as the most potent offensive threat in the lineup. The oft-maligned captain has scored 35 goals and 35 assists in 78 games.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Carey Price (IR)
• Chris Wideman (IR)
• Kirby Dach (out indefinitely, ACL/MCL)
• Arber Xhekaj (out indefinitely)
• Joshua Roy (4-6 weeks)

Ottawa Senators Injuries

• Matthew Highmore (IR)
• Travis Hamonic (out)
• Angus Crookshank (out)
• Josh Norris (IR)
• Alex Formenton (out)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Ottawa Senators Projected Lineup

Tkachuk – Pinto – Batherson

Joseph – Greig – Giroux

Katchouk – Kastelic – Kelly

Imama – Smejkal – MacEwen

Defence

Sanderson – Zub

Chychrun – Bernard-Docker

Chabot – Brannstrom

Goalie

Korpisalo

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