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The Sports Network
(Sports Network) - The sizzling Ottawa Senators will take aim at a fourth
straight victory when they visit the last-place Montreal Canadiens in
tonight's Northeast Division battle at Bell Centre.
The Senators have gone eight straight without a regulation loss, posting a
stellar 7-0-1 record during that span. Ottawa is also 10-1-2 over its last 13
outings and the club enters tonight as the fifth seed in the Eastern
Conference.
Ottawa is coming off an impressive win over the top-seeded team in the East,
as Craig Anderson and the Senators shut out the Rangers this past Thursday in
New York City. Anderson turned aside 34 shots for his first shutout of the
season and helped lift Ottawa to the 3-0 decision at Madison Square Garden.
Jason Spezza scored twice while Milan Michalek also had a goal for the
Senators. Michalek has four goals over his last four games and is leading
Ottawa with 23 goals this season. Spezza has five goals and eight points in
six January games and is pacing Ottawa with 46 points this season.
"It was a good game we had tonight," said Spezza. "They're one of the best
teams in the league, and to shut them down like we did tonight is huge for
us."
Sens defenseman Erik Karlsson was back in action Thursday after missing the
previous game due to an upper-body injury. Karlsson is second on Ottawa with
43 points this year and will join Spezza, Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson at
this year's All-Star Game, which will take place in Ottawa on Jan. 29.
Ottawa is completing a three-game road trip tonight, and after hosting
Winnipeg on Monday, the Sens will head out on another six-game swing. The Sens
are 10-7-5 as the guest this season, but are 3-0-1 in their last four road
tilts.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have lost two straight, four of six and nine of their
last 12 contests and are sitting last in the Northeast with 39 points.
Montreal decided to shake things up a bit on Thursday, as the club dealt
winger Mike Cammalleri to Calgary during a 2-1 loss in Boston.
Cammalleri played for Montreal on Thursday, but was pulled from the game after
the second period and told he had been dealt. The Habs sent Cammalleri, goalie
Karri Ramo and a fifth round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft to the
Flames in exchange for forwards Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a second
round pick in the 2013 draft.
Cammalleri has nine goals and 22 points this season, but is a minus-6 in 37
games played. Bourque, who adds some much-needed size to Montreal's forward
corps, had 13 goals and 16 points in 38 games with the Flames this season.
Yannick Weber scored the only goal for the Canadiens in Thursday's loss, while
Carey Price -- Montreal's lone All-Star -- gave up both goals on 30 shots in
defeat.
The Canadiens are 7-8-6 as the host this year and are kicking off a three-game
homestand tonight.
Montreal is 2-0 against the Sens this year and both wins came in Ottawa. The
Habs have taken four of five and six of the last eight meetings in this
series. Montreal has also won two of the last three encounters in Quebec, but
the Senators have five victories in their last seven trips to the Bell Centre.
The Sports Network