The Canadiens end their preparatory schedule with a loss to the Sens

Finally, the preparatory calendar is drawing to a close.

The Canadiens and Senators concluded their preparatory schedule tonight.

Here are the two line-ups for the occasion.

Tonight’s lineup

Tonight’s lineup#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/njdNd6HqGa

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) October 5, 2024

…and the Senators, without Tkachuk, Stützle, Greig, Giroux and Perron, among others. https://t.co/95Jndmzs4t

– Simon-Olivier Lorange (@SO_Lorange) October 5, 2024

Both teams didn’t dress many veterans…

Ottawa broke the ice in the 44th second.

Shane Pinto opened the scoring.

The Senators score early. Montembeault gets the first save, but Pinto capitalizes on the rebound.

Rough turnover by Roy in his own zone. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ss7Y5k1MR7

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 5, 2024

Moments later, Arber Xhekaj proved once again that he belongs with the Sens.

He made short work of Zack MacEwen with his fists. Fortunately, 72 finished the game as his coach intended.

The Sens forward was given an extra two minutes on the sequence.

Ladies and gentlemen, the owner of the Ottawa Senators pic.twitter.com/Uo6qTHijvY

– HFTV (@HFTVSports) October 5, 2024

Xhekaj’s brawl clearly didn’t inspire the Senators, as Pinto doubled their lead with his second of the game.

Montreal was playing 3-on-5 at the time…

Shane Pinto has two goals in the first period! #GoSensGo

Sanderson set him up for the tip on the powerplay. pic.twitter.com/ireOc9auOm

– Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) October 5, 2024

With Ottawa heading to the dressing room with a two-goal lead, Christian Dvorak foiled Linus Ullmark for the first time tonight.

Great work by Alex Barré-Boulet and Brendan Gallagher on the sequence.

Brendan Gallagher digs out a puck at the side of the net, and Christian Dvorak puts it home. #Habs get one goal back before the end of the period. pic.twitter.com/oJ9tTEn2QR

– Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 5, 2024

Despite the Habs’ revival, it was the Sens who scored first in the second period.

First, Michael Amadio foiled Monty.

Michael Amadio #22 scores Ottawa’s third goal of the night pic.twitter.com/ACCX6qlDih

– Coming In Hot (@ComingInHotSens) October 6, 2024

Then, Shane Pinto completed his hat trick.

Shorthanded…

Defence offence, @shane_pinto that was sick! #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/tueCDSSbtf

– Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 6, 2024

After a powerplay in which the Habs were unable to score, Arber Xhekaj unleashed a blistering shot from distance. that surprised Ullmark.

But it wasn’t enough.

The not too exciting match ended 4-2 in favor of the home team.

The Habs kick off their season on Wednesday night against the Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

Overtime

– Kaiden Guhle’s big check on his return to the game.

The Kaiden Guhle hit/scrum that followed. #GoHabsGo #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/PfNVkyeOtt

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 5, 2024

– Very good analysis by Andrew Zadarnowski. He says that losing a 12th forward is less serious than losing a sixth defenseman. That’s why Kent Hughes is shopping for a forward who can shuffle.

What’s worse, losing a 12th forward or losing a 6th dman? The strategy against the Habs this season will be obvious: get Xhekaj out of the game. That’s why Hughes is looking for another forward to take some heat off of Xhekaj. https://t.co/D4Dlh9eIRi

– Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) October 5, 2024

– He’s very strong.

Nick Cousins tried to take a run at Xhekaj from behind.

He chose… Poorly. pic.twitter.com/wkzD9D9xsa

– Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 6, 2024