Game Day: Senators vs Canadiens – Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy
Jordan Lambe
Pre-game Notes and Quotes
Mike Condon on his preparation as a starter: “Nothing changes, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. It’s the same preparation every day and it will be same thing going forward. The more you play, the more comfortable you feel.”
Michel Therrien on the Canadiens’ win versus the Jets Sunday: “The first game back following a long western road trip can often be tough, and I’ll admit I had some concerns heading into tonight, but the players responded in the best way possible.”
The Senators get both Curtis Lazar (missed three games due to a concussion) and Mike Hoffman (missed four games due to a groin injury) back from injuries in tonight’s game. Unfortunately for the Senators, leading scorer, Mark Stone, will serve his first game of a two game suspension for an illegal hit he placed on Landon Ferraro versus Detroit on Saturday.
There hasn’t been any update on the Carey Price injury, as the latest report states he will be out for at least a week. Mike Condon will shoulder majority of the starts in his place.
While the Canadiens remain a perfect 5-0-0 at home this season, the Senators have been very impressive on the road as well, sporting a 4-1-0 record away from Canadian Tire Centre.
Nothing has changed on the goals for front for the Canadiens, as they remain atop the league with 50 goals in 13 games. The Senators are in a tie for sixth place with 36 goals in 11 games.
With 24 goals against in 13 games, the Canadiens rank 7th in the league (with all teams above them playing at least 2 less games). The Senators haven’t been as successful in keeping the puck out of their net as they rank 26th in the league with 36 goals against in 11 games.
Matchup
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC. | November 3, 7:30 PM ET | TV: RDS, SNE, CITYM, RDS, TSN5
2015-16 statistics
SENATORS
CANADIENS
12 (10th)
Points (Eastern Con. rank)
22 (1st)
5-4-2
Record
11-2-0
1-3-2
Home
5-0-0
4-1-0
Road
6-2-0
4-4-2
Last 10
8-2-0
3.00
G/G
3.85
3.09
GA/G
1.85
13.5
PP%
23.4
75.6
PK%
88.9
48.4
CF%*
52.5
53.0
CF60*
57.0
56.5
CA60*
51.6
*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Hoffman – Turris – Lazar
Prince – Zibanejad – Ryan
Michalek – Pageau – Chiasson
Puempel – Smith – Neil
Mike Condon is on fire of late. Although this torrid start is going to come to an end eventually, I would recommend you grab him in your league now and ride this hot streak. He has a firm hold on the starting spot with Carey Price out for at least a week; a starting spot on a team that’s first in the league. He is in a very favorable position for the time being and if Price is out longer than expected, he could prove to be a valuable asset for longer than expected. Once Price returns though, he will be relegated to backup again and his starts will be limited, making his value drop drastically.
Bobby Ryan is currently on a 4 game point streak and has 5 points (3 G and 2 A) over that span. He has also put 18 shots on net, is a +2, and has laid 2 hits over that span. While his hit total is down from his career average of 1.3 hits per game (at 0.73 so far this season), he is worthy of a pickup in nearly all leagues due to his current hot streak. So far this season Ryan has 9 points in 11 games, maybe this is the year Ryan can finally live up to his potential and score 70 points as he did with the Ducks before leaving for Ottawa.
I can personally guarantee that Paul Byron WILL NOT continue at the point per game scoring rate he has had for his first three games as a Canadien. He has scored his 2 goals this season on only 2 shots, yes, he is shooting at a 100% rate. If your league is very deep and counts hits, he could help you in that category (if he continues to play regularly), as he averaged almost 2 hits per game last season with Calgary (101 hits in 57 games).
Top scorers for the Senators on the road this season are:
Erik Karlsson (with 8 points in 5 games)
Kyle Turris and Mark Stone (both with 7 points in 5 games)
Bobby Ryan (with 6 points in 5 games)
Top scorers for the Canadiens at home this season are:
David Desharnais (with 7 points in 5 games)
Tomas Fleischmann (with 6 points in 5 games)
P. K. Subban, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec (all with 4 points in 5 games)
