Did someone say playoffs? Yes, they did, and it wasn’t Jim Mora or the Buffalo Sabres, it was the Ottawa Senators. And that’s not to mention the Montreal Canadiens, who are all but a surety to make it.
Welcome back to an All-Canadian team edition of NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey. We are here to chat about tonight’s Friday clash between the Habs and Sens. As a sidebar, since we mentioned them, the Sabres were recently eliminated from post-season contention for the 14th consecutive season. Meanwhile, it is a very different story for the two teams featured in today’s NHL Predictions. Coincidentally enough, thanks to Tuesday’s loss by the Detroit Red Wings at the hands of Montreal, Ottawa clinched their first post-season berth in eight seasons. On the other hand, Montreal have all but clinched with teams chasing them under 1% probability of making it. So, with both teams seemingly playoff bound, let’s take a look at how this one might play out.
NHL Predictions: Montreal Canadiens at the Senators, from the Canadian Tire Centre, in Kanata, Ontario
TV: Sportsnet, RDS, ESPN+
7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
2024-25 Season Series: Montreal overwhelmingly leads 3-0
The Senators Angle in this Matchup
For the Ottawa Senators, their biggest newsmaker right now is injuries, most notably their captain, Brady Tkachuk. There was lots of chatter the past day or so on Tkachuk. And really, given that the Sens clinched a trip to the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, why bother rushing him back into the lineup? The rest could only do the leader and physical menace, Tkachuk, and his fellow Sens squadron a favour.
Nick Cousins is out here in a regular jersey #Sens pic.twitter.com/e0SMwNOAyH
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) April 10, 2025
Next up in our NHL Predictions is a welcome sign for Sen fans, and that is the latest on forward Nick Cousins. He has been recovering from a knee injury. Moreover, this is an injury that hasn’t seen him play since late January. Needless to say, seeing him back on ice as a regular participant is reassuring for everyone. He must be chomping at the bit to get a bit of traction before the high intensity of playoff hockey begins.
Other than that, the Sens appear relatively healthy. The last item to leave you with from their perspective is their projected started, Linus Ullmark. Whether it is Ullmark that ends up going or backup Anton Forsberg, both have played well lately. Over his past two starts, Ullmark has stopped a combined 59 of 60 shots. On the other hand, Forsberg, if we ignore his last game, a 5-2 loss to Columbus, had won the previous two, stopping all but one of 73 shots. Regardless, it seems the goalies are rounding into form, and the timing couldn’t be better.
The Happenings Avec Les Habitants
According to these NHL Predictions, besides the Habs playoff aspirations, the next biggest news is personnel wise. This included a Demidov sighting in Toronto yesterday. Therefore, with a Ivan Demidov signing apparently imminent with the Habs, it seems that general manager Kent Hughes is pulling out all the stops. Any little boost to their roster would be welcomed. Demidov has put up unreal numbers this past year for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL as a 19-year-old. His 19 goals and 30 assists really established himself as an elite talent. The future is more than bright in La Belle Province.
Meanwhile, Lane Hutson continues to lead the push for the Calder Trophy. Yes, Dustin Wolf and Macklin Celebrini have made strong cases for themselves in their own rights. In contrast, Hutson seems to have the leg up on all the competition this season. One final differentiator between the three is if either of Wolf or Hutson find themselves playing spring hockey. Especially in the case of a goalie, but also for Hutson, a strong defenceman, pushing their team to the promise-land would be a significant contribution to their full body of work. The scoring race is tight for the rookies, but Hutson’s 64, and as a defenceman, remarkably has the lead, just over guys like Celebrini and Matvei Michkov.
One major reason the Montreal Canadiens can even think about the playoffs this year, is Sam Montembeault. Montembeault was the confirmed starter as of publication. However, as we like to say, always make sure to check the very latest roster news and notes before locking in your daily fantasy rosters. As for Monty, his numbers have been spectacular on a more-or-less average Montreal team. He’s played 59 games, with a record of 30-23-6 and four shutouts. His 2.81 goals-against average and .901 save percentage are great for a team that is not known to be strong defensively. As we stand, he is fifth in the entire NHL in goals-save above expected at 20.5. If the Sens are getting creative offensively, it might be hard for them to score.
NHL Predictions Sens and Habs
This is shaping up to be a deadly, Friday night showdown. Both teams are 6-3-1 in their last ten games played. We like the Sens in this one thanks to home ice in an otherwise very tight matchup.
Final Score: 4 – 3 Sens
If we want to suggest some betting action, check these out. Nick Suzuki finds himself red hot. He has six goals and six assists in his past six-game point streak. He’s paying +260 as an anytime scorer, we like that pick. Furthermore, for Ottawa, we like Jake Sanderson‘s play of late, take him to get three or more shots at +146. If we combine that with the over, given our score prediction, it is nearly +1K, how do we say in Francais, on ne vit qu’une fois!
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Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte – Imagn Images
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