The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2 at Centre Bell on Saturday, led by Juraj Slafkovsky's three-point performance in preseason action.
Ottawa took an early lead at 11:54 of the first period when Philip Tomasino scored a power-play goal on a snap shot, set up by Christian Kyrou and Kasper Halttunen. Chris Kreider answered for Montreal at 13:31 with an even-strength snap shot off assists from Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson. Tyler Boucher restored Ottawa's advantage with another power-play tally on a snap shot at 19:19, assisted by Xavier Bourgault and Ryan Suzuki. Noah Dobson tied the game 2-2 just 47 seconds into the second period, scoring on a slap shot during Montreal's lone power play with assists from Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield. Slafkovsky broke the deadlock at 6:13 of the third period with an even-strength snap shot assisted by Dobson and Phillip Danault, before Danault sealed the win at 12:56 on a snap shot assisted by Slafkovsky and Matheson.
Montreal split the goaltending duties, with Jacob Fowler stopping 16 of 18 shots in the opening portion before Samuel Montembeault earned the win by turning aside all 14 shots he faced in relief. Samuel Ersson stopped 22 of 26 shots in the loss for Ottawa. The Canadiens scored on their only power-play opportunity of the night, while the Senators converted two of their five power plays.
Both clubs now look ahead to late October matchups. Montreal hosts the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, October 20, while Ottawa hosts the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, October 21.
