Game 79: Senators @ Canadiens

Whew! The Habs again! I really want to give an Ottawa Senator a letter. I have to deliver the first to Daniel Alfredsson still, and have yet to find a way to do so (I actually saw Luke Richardson in person and asked if he knew of a reasonable way to meet a player face-to-face, but he didn't have any ideas. Plus I was at work and didn't want to overstep professionality). But to give two at once, well, that would be terrific.

Alex Auld is starting in goal for the Ottawa Senators, with Jaroslav Halak in nets for the Canadiens. More interestingly, both Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider will miss the game for Montréal. There won't be roster changes for Ottawa, meaning that Christoph Schubert will once again dress as a forward and Shean Donovan will be a healthy scratch.

It's a huge game for the Habs' playoff hopes and the No Habs No! campaign's ambitions. If Montréal wins, they'll leapfrog Pittsburgh for sixth in the East and all but clinch a playoff spot. If they lose, they're three points behind the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers (each have 89 points) with three games to go in the year for all three.

In other news, Pascal Leclaire made his first road trip with the Ottawa Senators. He's not in game shape, but he's taking full practices now, and probably getting a feel for the team dynamics.

Game time is 7:30, and it's on Sportsnet and RDS in Ottawa.