Game 50 Preview + Open Thread: Senators @ Canadiens

Jan 31, 2023 - 4:30 PM

The Ridly Greig era is upon us! Since being called up last Wednesday, Greig has helped the Ottawa Senators win their games against the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens. Now the Senators will play the Canadiens once again, but this time in Montreal. It is the final game for Ottawa before the All-Star break, and they won’t play again until Saturday, February 11th.

Greig has registered two assists in those three games and has fit in very nicely on the second line alongside Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. Back-to-back wins by a combined score of 11-2 against the Leafs and Canadiens on back-to-back nights brought back a lot of energy within the fanbase, and another win against Montreal before the break would go a long way. It still doesn’t seem as if they can get back into the playoff picture, but positive momentum will always be appreciated.

Here were the lines from yesterday, with Thomas Chabot getting in and Artem Zub not being ready until after the break. There could be tweaks at forward but we shall see and will give an update if there are any changes:

Game Notes:

• Ever since DeBrincat had a long discussion with DJ Smith about creating more offense and holding onto the puck, the Senators are 3-0 and have outscored opponents 13-3. This team is not built for dump-and-chase hockey, which they’ve been doing less of in these past few games. Perhaps Smith has learned his lesson about utilizing the skill on this team, but I’m not sure.
• At last year’s All-Star break, the Senators were 14-22-4, which is obviously nine games fewer than the 49 they’ve played so far due to COVID-19. They were on pace for 66 points, and this season they’re on pace for 82 points heading into tonight, so...progress?
• Anton Forsberg has been fantastic over the last 2.5 games, allowing just three goals on 83 shots. The game on Saturday could’ve easily been closer if he wasn’t on his A-game, but instead, Ottawa blew them out 5-0. We’ll see if he gets the start tonight.
• Giroux has four goals and three assists over his past three games (and 4G/4A in 8 GP), as he continues to show how valuable he has been to the team. He was also named NHL’s 1st Star of the Week for his incredible efforts.
• This is the seventh time the Canadiens will wear their reverse retros this season—they’re 0-5-1 in them so far.

Puck drop is at 7:00 EST and the game can be seen on TSN2, TSN5, and RDS.