At long last, the Montreal Canadiens entered the end of their pre-season schedule with a third game against the Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens rolled out something close to an opening-night roster as they could, with the notable omissions being the still-injured Mike Hoffman and Joel Edmundson, in addition to the late scratch of Jonathan Drouin with an illness.
Taking Drouin’s spot on the second line was Artturi Lehkonen, while the rest of the lineup from the morning skate remained the same. It was a crucial game for Ryan Poehling and Jesse Ylönen as they looked to try to secure one of the few remaining spots on the NHL roster.