Senators at Canadiens
One day after moving two points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadiens attempt to extend their lead atop the Atlantic Division when they host the back end of the home-and-home series on Sunday. Montreal, which had lost two of its previous three games, squandered a pair of leads Saturday before emerging with a 4-3 shootout win at Ottawa.
Paul Byron scored the decisive goal in the bonus format as the Canadiens registered their 40th win of the season and eighth in the last 10 games. Montreal is kicking off a six-game homestand but has gone just 2-5-1 over its last eight at Bell Centre. Ottawa, which is four points ahead of Boston for second in the Atlantic, began the month with six consecutive victories but has dropped its last three contests (0-1-2). Captain Erik Karlsson is in the midst of an offensive surge for the Senators, collecting six goals and 15 assists over his last 18 games to expand his team-leading total to 65.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, RDS
ABOUT THE SENATORS (39-23-8): Craig Anderson returned to the crease Saturday after missing two games with an injury, meaning Mike Condon is likely to get the start on Sunday. Kyle Turris leads the team with 23 goals but has tallied just once over his last six contests. Ryan Dzingel celebrated his 100th career game Saturday by scoring his 14th goal of the season, which was his second in four matches following a 10-game drought.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (40-23-8): Defenseman Andrei Markov registered his 450th career assist Saturday, tying him with Saku Koivu for sixth place on the franchise list. The 38-year-old Russian has recorded 567 points and is two away from passing Peter Mahovlich for 18th in club history. Byron failed to score in the win over the Senators after netting three tallies in his previous two games and still needs one to reach the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career.
OVERTIME
1. Senators D Marc Methot notched an assist Saturday, leaving him one shy of 100 for his career.
2. Montreal F Torrey Mitchell's next game will be his 600th in the NHL.
3. Ottawa has earned points in each of its three meetings with Montreal this season (2-0-1).