The Nick Suzuki experiment continues for the Montreal Canadiens as he gets slotted in on the top line on the road against the Ottawa Senators.
Does it matter that the Montreal Canadiens are undefeated in the preseason?
As much as it’s great to win, it isn’t the most important thing. That said, the fan base made a big stink when the team were losing preseason games left and right. What is important though is how some of the youth have played so far. Most importantly, Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans and Otto Leskinen.
Evans has shown off how good of a two-way centre he can be and has created some magic with Matthew Peca. Otto Leskinen has tipped the scale in his favour and is arguably a better option over Mike Reilly as far as defensive depth for the Habs. And Suzuki is getting better and better each showing to the point where Claude Julien is giving him a run in Brendan Gallagher‘s spot on the top line.
His performance peaked last game when he finished with two assists and a shootout goal. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had an interesting way to describe the play, and he was absolutely right.
A bittersweet aspect of this lineup – and the rest of training camp for that matter – is that because of the Ryan Poehling concussion, the door is even more open for fourth line auditions. Nate Thompson and Jordan Weal play the way a fourth line should in Julien’s ice. They’re heavy on the puck and try to spend as much time out of their own end as possible.
Thompson and Weal may have already locked in a spot, but Evans is still and can push the envelope even further. The same goes for the likes of Dale Weise and Phillip Varone who are looking for wing spots in the bottom six.
Forward Lines
Tomas Tatar – Philip Danault – Nick Suzuki
Charles Hudon – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia
Phillip Varone – Jordan Weal – Dale Weise
Matthew Peca – Jake Evans – Riley Barber
Defence Pairs
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Otto Leskinen – Cale Fleury
Mike Reilly – Christian Folin
Goaltending
Keith Kinkaid
Cayden Primeau
As for their opponents, the Ottawa Senators are no stranger. There have been some heavy games between the two over the years, and it could be even more intense with the number of jobs available on the Sens roster. Young players looking to make an impact could be dangerous for the Montreal Canadiens, and it’ll be interesting to see how they contain them.
Tonight's roster vs. Montreal ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BGjULaU4nF
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 21, 2019
Names to pay attention to our Brady Tkachuk, Max Lajoie, and Anthony Duclair. Tkachuk is continuing to take the mantel as a franchise player and hopes to improve on what was a decent rookie season. Lajoie and Duclair were both on the Sens last season, but still, have something to prove.
Both forwards were also standouts for Ottawa in their win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Duclair only got an empty-net goal, but he was all over the play and using his speed to expose defencemen and get a couple of odd-man breaks for the team.
For more details on line combinations and defence pairs, go over to SensShot to check out their preview for the game.