Senators Destroy the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 at Home

The Ottawa Senators shut out the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, improving their record to 23-23-3 this year. This was the Sens third win a row, after beating the Maple Leafs 6-2 on Friday night and the NY Islanders on Wednesday. The team is now 4-6 in their last 10 NHL games.

The star of the game was Claude Giroux, who ended with two goals and an assist. Alex DeBrincat, Mathieu Joseph and Derick Brassard also scored for Ottawa, while Anton Forsberg was extremely solid in net, making 28 saves.

This was the second meeting between the Senators and Canadiens, with Ottawa taking both games so far. The two teams will have two more matchups before the end of the regular season.

The key to the Sen’s success as of late seems to stem from their penalty killing ability. The team has been a perfect 24 out of 24 in killing penalties over their last 8 games at home.

On the Canadien’s side, Sam Montembeault stopped 31 shots but the offense was not really able to gain any momentum throughout the game. The team has been mediocre in their last 5, going 0-3-2.

The first period of play went scoreless, but the Senators took control in the second, scoring three unanswered goals to cut the game wide open. The Canadiens had a couple looks to get back in the game, but were unable to get one past Forsberg despite having a couple of power-play opportunities. 

DeBrincat scored his 16th of the season scoring via a 2-on-1 to open the scoring just 22 seconds into the period. It was the Giroux show after that, as the right-winger snapped a pair of goals and helped out with another.

The Senators will look to make a push to the postseason after finally evening out their record to 0.500. It will be a tough road uphill as the team is currently sitting bottom from last in the Atlantic Division.

Who’s Next for the Senators?

The Sens will play the Canadiens again next Tuesday, this time at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Given the Canadiens’ form in the past few weeks, Ottawa will be looking to make short work of the game and tally another win towards their playoff aspirations.

You will be able to bet on Sens games at any of the top NHL sports betting sites. Go through our list to find out where you can find the best odds and betting features.