CANADIENS
Montreal

SENATORS
Ottawa

Pacioretty – Plekanec – Gallagher
Eller – Galchenyuk – Semin
Flynn – Mitchell – Kassian
Andrighetto – Hudon – Smith-Pelly

Markov – Subban
Beaulieu – Gilbert
Emelin – Juulsen

Price
Tokarski

Game Report

It’s games like this one that suggest that the pre-season is too long. Once again the Canadiens went with an NHL-heavy lineup. They are players with nothing left to prove in the pre-season and are anxious to get the new campaign underway.

The Canadiens took an early 2-0 lead. The first goal was a backhand by Andrei Markov through a screen set by Lars Eller. It was a softie allowed by Sens goalie Craig Anderson who was off to a shaky start.

The second goal came before the ten minute mark of the first period from a Craig Ramsay-coached power-play. Max Pacioretty, who surprisingly was not coach Therrien’s choice to start the game, made a beautiful pass to Nathan Beaulieu who slid down from the point for the back door goal.

It was too much, too easy. The Habs dominated possession time but weren’t willing to take the next steps necessary to finish. Post-game Michel Therrien accused his team of engaging in high-risk plays.

It’s hard to imagine P.K. Subban duplicating this nonchalant performance in the regular season: pirouettes, too many turnovers and plenty of the high-risk plays that the coach spoke about.

Torrey Mitchell played well but took a dumb retaliatory penalty in the third period which led to the Senators fourth goal, putting the game out of reach.

Canadiens rookie Noah Juulsen looked good in his first taste of NHL action. He played well positionally, looked poised and moved the puck when required.

The Canadiens will close out the preseason in Ottawa on Saturday with a rematch against the Senators.

▲     Noah Juulsen, Andrei Markov, Lars Eller

▼     Brian Flynn, P.K. Subban

1.  Craig Anderson  OTT
2.  Mark Stone  OTT
3.  Andrei Markov  MTL

• “Well the most important thing for him was to play tonight and he accomplished that. I thought that in order to make a comeback a week before we start the season, he needed to go through that process. The guys that have been there since day one, their level of conditioning is a bit higher so that’s stage one. But it’s nice to see him back out there.“

Max Pacioretty

• “I felt pretty good. Maybe a little better than I thought. I tried not to air it out so I could have a little bit energy in the third period. I’m pain free.“