HabsWorld.net -- 

On Saturday, the Habs (2-1-1) return home to face another division rival in
the Ottawa Senators.  Last night, Montreal, buoyed by offence from the
defence, beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.  The Sens (1-2-1) meanwhile are
coming off their first victory of the season, a 3-2 triumph over Carolina. 
Once again Carey Price gets the nod for the Habs while Brian Elliott makes his
first start of the season for Ottawa.

No lineup changes are anticipated for the Habs which means both Ryan O’Byrne
and Mathieu Darche will sit.  Andrei Markov, thought by some to be ready
for tonight, is a no-go.  Here’s Montreal’s projected lineup:

Forwards:
Cammalleri – Plekanec – Kostitsyn
Moen – Gomez – Gionta
Eller – Halpern – Lapierre
Pyatt – Boyd – Pouliot

Defence:
Hamrlik – Spacek
Gill – Gorges
Picard – Subban

As for the Sens, the injury bug struck once more in Thursday’s victory, as
starting goalie Pascal Leclaire went down early in the game and is out for
tonight’s contest.  Robin Lehner will be the backup until Leclaire returns. 
Filip Kuba also remains out for a couple more weeks.  Ottawa’s projected
lines:

Forwards:
Michalek – Spezza – Alfredsson
Foligno – Fisher – Neil
Ruutu – Kelly – Winchester
Shannon – Regin – Kovalev

Defence:
Phillips – Gonchar
Carkner – Campoli
Karlsson – Lee

Inside the Numbers:

– Both teams have really struggled on the powerplay so far this season. 
The Habs are 25th in the NHL at 8.3% while Ottawa sits second last at a mere
5.6%.
– Montreal’s centres better be ready; Ottawa sits atop the East in team faceoff
percentage at 56.5%.  (The Habs sit at 50.5% by comparison, 8th in the
East).
– Brian Elliott has a career 3-1 record (in 6 games) vs Montreal with a 2.90 GAA,
.903 SV%, and 1 shutout.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST and can be seen on CBC (or online in Canada at
cbcsports.ca).