The first thing I’m watching when the Ottawa Senators face the Montreal Canadiens on September 21 is not the final preseason score. It is opportunity.
Ottawa enters its preseason opener with a significant fantasy question after trading Brady Tkachuk to Florida: who absorbs the prime offensive touches, net-front opportunities and power-play usage that disappeared with him? Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson already have established fantasy value, but newcomer William Eklund could become one of the most important players to monitor if Ottawa gives him immediate top-six and special-teams work. Eklund produced 53 points with San Jose last season and was acquired specifically as Ottawa reshaped its offense following the Tkachuk trade.
Montreal presents a different puzzle. The Canadiens are already 2-0-0 in preseason after beating Toronto 4-3 in overtime and 4-1 in split-squad games Saturday. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson remain the established fantasy stars, but Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky and newly signed Chris Kreider make Montreal’s power-play deployment particularly interesting.
My biggest takeaway tonight will come from who plays with whom and who receives PP1 minutes, not simply which team wins.
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens Game Information
Trois-Rivières, QC
This is the annual Kraft Hockeyville game celebrating Saint-Boniface, Quebec. The matchup takes place at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières at 7:00 p.m. ET, with Montreal designated as the home team despite the neutral-site setting.
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens Fantasy Hockey Matchup Outlook
Because this is preseason, I would not treat last season’s team numbers as a direct forecast. They are much more useful as a baseline for identifying where each club’s established strengths lie.
Montreal finished 48-24-10 with 106 points, scoring 279 goals while allowing 251. The Canadiens averaged 3.40 goals per game, converted 23.14% of their power plays and killed 78.23% of opposing power plays. Ottawa went 44-27-11 with 99 points, scoring 275 goals and allowing 245. The Senators averaged 3.35 goals per game with a slightly better 23.95% power play, although their 75.85% penalty kill was below Montreal’s.
Those numbers describe two fairly comparable offensive teams. Montreal had the slight edge in overall scoring and standings points, while Ottawa allowed six fewer goals and owned the better power-play percentage.
The head-to-head results reinforce how little separation there was. Montreal won three of four meetings last season, but the four games produced 15 goals for each team. Their most recent meeting ended 3-2 for Montreal on March 11, with Juraj Slafkovsky scoring on the power play and Ivan Demidov eventually scoring the winner.
That is why I am hesitant to treat Montreal’s 3-1 season-series record as evidence of a major matchup advantage. These teams were capable of creating offense against each other, and preseason roster construction makes tonight even less predictable.
What I’m Watching
Montreal has one advantage that matters specifically tonight: its players have already experienced preseason game speed. Saturday’s split-squad sweep allowed the Canadiens to evaluate veterans, prospects, special teams and all four goalies used between the two games. Ottawa, by comparison, is playing its preseason opener.
That does not automatically make Montreal the better fantasy play. Ottawa’s uncertainty is exactly what creates opportunity.
NHL Fantasy Players to Watch in Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
For Montreal, Nick Suzuki remains my safest fantasy reference point after a 101-point season. Cole Caufield’s 51 goals give him elite shooting upside whenever he dresses, while Lane Hutson’s 78 points make his power-play deployment especially important. Caufield’s 51-goal season included 11 power-play goals, so even limited preseason PP1 minutes can matter.
Demidov is another player I want to see. He finished his rookie season with 19 goals and 43 assists and led NHL rookies with 62 points. If Montreal continues increasing his special-teams responsibility, his fantasy ceiling rises considerably.
Kreider adds another wrinkle. He scored 22 goals and eight power-play goals last season. I would pay close attention to whether Montreal tests his established net-front ability with its top unit. That deployment has not been permanently established yet, so it should be treated as something to monitor rather than an announced role.
Ottawa’s most important fantasy storyline is the post-Tkachuk redistribution of offense. Tim Stützle scored 34 goals and 83 points last season, while Drake Batherson produced career highs of 33 goals and 71 points. Those two should remain major offensive drivers.
Then there is Eklund. His 15 goals and 53 points for San Jose were already fantasy-relevant, and NHL.com identified him as a candidate for a top-six Ottawa role after the Tkachuk trade. If he receives time beside Stützle, Batherson or on a high-end power-play unit, his fantasy stock could rise quickly.
NHLTradeRumor.com Fantasy Matchup Projection
These projections assume the player dresses and receives meaningful minutes. Montreal coach Martin St-Louis had not revealed his Kraft Hockeyville roster as of this morning, and no starting goalie had been officially announced. Samuel Montembeault discussed the possibility of playing near his hometown, but he did not say he had been given the start.
That uncertainty is especially important in preseason. A 10-minute prospect appearance and a 19-minute top-six role cannot be evaluated the same way.
Top Five Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens Fantasy Scorers From Last Season
Montreal’s scoring hierarchy was unusually strong at the top. Suzuki reached 101 points, Caufield scored 51 goals, Hutson produced 78 points from defense, Slafkovsky reached 73 and Demidov recorded 62. That gives fantasy managers several established ways to gain exposure to Montreal’s top power play and scoring lines.
Ottawa’s historical top five requires an important clarification. Brady Tkachuk appears because this module measures 2025-26 production, but he is no longer a Senator after being traded to Florida in June. His departure is part of what makes tonight’s deployment worth monitoring.
*Brady Tkachuk is included because he ranked among Ottawa’s five leading scorers in 2025-26. He was traded to Florida in June 2026.
The bars are not player projections. I use them to show how concentrated each team’s previous-season production was relative to its own leading scorer.
Injuries and Absences That Could Affect Fantasy Value
Montreal will be without Kaiden Guhle, who underwent minor adductor surgery and was given a four-to-five-week recovery timeline on September 16. His absence creates preseason defensive minutes that can be distributed among Montreal’s other blueliners and prospects. It also increases the value of seeing how Hutson and Montreal’s other puck-moving defenders are deployed.
Alexandre Carrier and Jake Evans did not skate Sunday. Montreal did not identify them as injured in that update, so I would not label either player a confirmed injury absence without a game-day update.
For Ottawa, Artem Zub and Warren Foegele began camp recovering from injuries. Coach Travis Green said both were skating separately and expected them back with the team within one to two weeks, making their availability for the preseason opener doubtful unless Ottawa provides a same-day change.
Jake Sanderson should not be lumped into that group. He participated in training camp and had an official team media availability on September 20.
Ridly Greig also has a two-game suspension, but it applies to the regular season, not this preseason matchup.
From a fantasy perspective, Ottawa’s absences are another reason to watch younger players and new arrivals rather than trying to read too much into a conventional regular-season depth chart.
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens Salary-Cap Snapshot
Salary-cap space does not predict tonight’s winner, but it matters when evaluating which teams can make roster adjustments, carry additional players or react to waiver opportunities as camp progresses.
Montreal is at approximately $2.78 million in projected cap space with a $101.22 million projected cap hit. Ottawa sits at approximately $4.20 million in projected space with a $99.80 million projected cap hit against the NHL’s $104 million ceiling.
My fantasy takeaway is not that Ottawa’s extra space makes it more likely to win. It simply gives Ottawa somewhat more flexibility if training camp creates a roster decision or acquisition opportunity that could eventually alter player roles.
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens Fantasy Hockey Prediction
My Score Prediction: Montreal Canadiens 4 – Ottawa Senators 3
I give Montreal a slight edge, but preseason games deserve a wider margin for uncertainty than regular-season predictions.
The Canadiens have already played twice, scored eight goals and used a wide cross-section of their training-camp roster. Montreal also returns the core of a team that produced 106 points last season and averaged 3.40 goals per game. Ottawa was not far behind offensively, and its power play actually finished with a slightly higher conversion rate, so I do not expect this to be one-sided.
My projected 4-3 score assumes enough NHL-calibre offensive talent dresses on both sides to create chances despite split goalie workloads and experimental lines.
Montreal has the slight fantasy advantage for me because Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson, Slafkovsky and Demidov provide a familiar offensive ecosystem. Ottawa, however, may offer the more interesting change-in-value opportunities. If Eklund lands beside Stützle or gets premium power-play repetitions, that is information I would carry forward into fantasy draft preparation.
Goaltending remains difficult to project because neither team had officially confirmed a starter when this analysis was prepared. In preseason, I also expect coaches to prioritize evaluation over maximizing a starter’s workload.
The development that matters more to me than the final score is power-play deployment. Montreal has Kreider joining an already talented group, while Ottawa must redistribute opportunities after Tkachuk’s departure. One night will not establish a season-long unit, but the first combinations can tell us which experiments the coaching staffs consider worth exploring.
How to Watch Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
Date: Monday, September 21, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. MT
Arena: Colisée Vidéotron, Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Canada TV: Sportsnet One; TVA Sports/TVAS
Canada streaming: Sportsnet’s streaming service lists Ottawa at Montreal as available to sign-in/subscription users
U.S. TV: NHL Network is listed by current U.S. television guides
Radio: TSN 1200 in English; 104.7 FM in French
Ottawa describes the Canadian Sportsnet One/TVA broadcast as national, so a normal regional Canadian blackout is not expected. Subscription and provider restrictions can still apply. U.S. NHL Network availability depends on the viewer’s television package, so fans should verify their provider shortly before puck drop.
For more matchup planning, check the Ottawa Senators TV schedule and Montreal Canadiens TV schedule, then follow the NHL point leaders for 2026-27 as regular-season scoring begins. While you’re here, join our NHL Fantasy Hockey Pool to test your GM skills against other hockey fans and compete for ultimate bragging rights.
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