Canadiens at Senators
THE STORY: The Christmas break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens have lost five straight, including the first three of their current six game road trip that resumes Tuesday in Ottawa. Montreal is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games and 0-4-0 under interim coach Randy Cunneyworth, who replaced the fired Jacques Martin. Ottawa, meanwhile, had a three-game winning streak snapped Friday when they fell 2-1 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes. Montreal won the first of six meetings this year, 2-1 in Ottawa on Nov. 4. Erik Cole and Andrei Kostitsyn scored, and Carey Price made 33 saves for Montreal. Zack Smith tallied for the Senators.
TV: 7:30 p.m.,RDS, TSN-Habs (Montreal), SNET-E (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE SENATORS (17-14-5): It is likely that Milan Michalek will return to the Ottawa lineup Tuesday. The sniper has been out since Dec. 13 with a concussion, the third of his young career. At the time of his injury, Michalek led the NHL with 19 goals. Philip Kuba scored against Carolina for his 300th NHL point. Goaltender Craig Anderson made 36 saves, and is 15-11-3 on the season.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (13-16-7): Montreal sits in the basement of the Northeast Division, 12th in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens will look to turn their fortunes around when they begin the second leg of their current road trip that sees them visit Tampa Bay and Florida after Ottawa. Despite possibly their worst team game of the year, Price made 30 saves in the Canadiens' 4-0 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday. He is 12-12-7 with two shutouts this season.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal forward Mike Cammalleri has one goal in 11 games in December.
2. Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban was a healthy scratch for the first time this year Thursday and the sixth time in his career. In 35 games this season, Subban has two goals and 14 points and is a minus two.
3. The Senators are 10-7-1 at home this season, and 4-1-1 in their last six games overall.