Jake Evans, Canadiens heating up entering showdown vs. Senators
Montreal's Jake Evans will look to extend his points streak to six games on Wednesday night when the Canadiens visit the Ottawa Senators.
Montreal is in third place in the Atlantic Division after a 3-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. The Canadiens are one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and two points in front of the Boston Bruins in the division.
Winners of three games in a row, the Senators are five points behind the Bruins as they open a three-game homestand.
The Canadiens, who are 7-1-3 in their past 11 games, seized a 2-0 first-period lead against the Maple Leafs and held on before Evans sealed the win by scoring into an empty net in the third.
"I feel like that was our most complete game," he said. "It felt like the third period, we were in control for most of it and we just didn't get that third, or I guess maybe even fourth goal, to take them out of it. They fought hard to battle back, but I'm just happy with how complete that game was."
After being held scoreless in four straight games, Evans has six points (three goals, three assists) in a five-game points streak.
Rookie Oliver Kapanen and Phillip Danault also scored a goal, and Jakub Dobes made 17 saves for Montreal against Toronto.
"We played well," Danault said. "We gave up a couple of chances in the second, but Dobes was solid, which is what we need at this point. It gave us confidence, and we kept doing our thing. ... Big two points tonight."
The Senators have points in seven straight games (5-0-2) following a 2-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night. James Reimer, making his first start since Feb. 5, made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd of his career.
Ridly Greig and captain Brady Tkachuk each scored a goal for the Senators.
"Just a complete game," coach Travis Green said. "It's a combination of our defensive game, take a lot of pride in it, our penalty kill did a great job, and we knew we needed this win."
Tim Stutzle notched an assist to extend his points streak to 13 games (eight goals, nine assists).
Ottawa was without defenseman Jake Sanderson, who is week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury Saturday in a victory over the Seattle Kraken.
"You can't replace him, and the old adage is everyone has to chip in, right?" Reimer said. "But I think we're built as a group, as a culture, to be able to do that. ... We just dig in and know that we need to do our jobs well and be prepared to play"
Ottawa and Montreal will meet for the fourth time this season. Alex Newhook scored in overtime in Ottawa's 4-3 win on Nov. 1, and Tkachuk and Fabian Zetterlund each collected a goal and an assist for the Senators in a 5-2 victory on Dec. 2.
On Jan. 17, Cole Caufield scored in overtime as Montreal rallied for a 6-5 win.
Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault is 5-5-0 with a 3.52 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage in his career against the Senators.
Linus Ullmark is 5-4-1 with a 3.27 GAA and .874 save percentage vs. the Canadiens.