Senators at Canadiens
THE STORY: There may be only 125 driving miles between Ottawa and Montreal, but the two cities are much further apart when it comes to their current NHL fortunes. Scrambling to salvage what's left of their season, the new-look Canadiens expect to have winger Rene Bourque in the lineup as they entertain the surging Senators on Saturday night. Montreal took the bizarre step of trading outspoken winger Michael Cammalleri midway through their 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, completing a deal that sees them acquire Bourque from the Calgary Flames. While it appears to be a lateral move from a statistical standpoint - Cammalleri has six more points, while Bourque has four additional goals - it may have been more about ridding the dressing room of Cammalleri, who had recently suggested some of his teammates were a little too comfortable with losing. Ottawa is in far better position, having won seven of its last eight to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE SENATORS (24-15-6): With the All-Star Game set for Scotiabank Place at the end of the month, three of the team's four All-Stars are playing like they deserve to be there. Jason Spezza leads the club with 48 points, a total that ranks him in the top 10 in the league. Linemate Milan Michalek is among the league leaders with 23 goals in just 40 games, leaving him three shy of the career high he set in 2006-07. And defenseman Erik Karlsson leads all blue liners with 43 points.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (16-20-7): Montreal's latest move was designed to shake up a club that is in danger of missing the postseason, having slipped to 12th in the East - a whopping nine points back of the eighth-place Washington Capitals. The Canadiens' home struggles, in particular, have been the most pronounced of any team in the league not named Columbus. Montreal comes into the day with just seven victories in 21 games at the Bell Centre.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal has won four of the last five meetings between the clubs, including the first two this season. The Canadiens have outscored Ottawa 10-3 in those two games.
2. Bourque has four goals and an assist in seven career games against the Senators.