Training Camp Check-In and Preseason Game #3 Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens

After back-to-back wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sens are flying high. They won when they put in their star lineup and they won when the Leafs put in their star lineup. What more can you ask for?

Dominik Kubalík might end up being one of the most underrated off season moves this season. He is making a great first impression, scoring an assist and a goal in his first period as an Ottawa Senator. His chemistry with Roby Järventie (who also scored on Monday) will make things interesting when it's time for the big decisions.

First the apple, now a goal. Not too shabby for your first period as a Senator, Kubalik! 🚨#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/szY7LNPhXK

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 25, 2023

The biggest take from the two games against the Leafs (other than that we are the far more superior Ontario team) is that the goaltending situation is looking good for the present. Both Anton Forsberg and Mads Søgaard had a great opening games, which is a relief for the Sens after a nightmare of a season in nets last year.

Of course, how can we forget the star of the game? Along with Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun was heavily relied on last game. For some odd reason, DJ Smith thought it was sensible to play two of our top D for over 30 minutes in a preseason game. Both looked very good, but if this is a preview of the season; we might be falling into bad habits again but hey let's not make any irrational and premature judgements here. The great news is that Jakob Chychrun seems to really like playing agains the Maple Leafs, he scored 2 goals including one incredible overtime winner.

Jakob Chychrun with the power play snipe! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/pdFFgDiCJp

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 25, 2023

🐥 🏃 ➡️ 🐥 🕺#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/0kKof4MCZ2

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 26, 2023

On the transaction side, the Senators sent Matthew Andonovski, Tomas Hamara  and Jorian Donovan to their respective OHL teams. As the roster will start trimming down, it makes sense to release players in time to get ready for the OHL season.

The Senators also released Connor Clattenburg and Jackson Stewart have been released from their amateur tryout contracts.

Coming up are games against the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets before the Sens fly to Nova Scotia to play games against the Florida Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Kraft Hockeyville program.

Game Hub: Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens, 7pm EST

Tonight, the Senators will continue their dominance on their other hated rival. It does seem however that the Sens are not really too worried about facing the Habs and their choice of roster is evident.

It will be exciting to watch the likes of Egor Sokolov, Zack Ostapuchuk and Josh Bailey try to impress and push for their spots. I am most interested to see if Bailey really is able to win over the management team and turn his PTO into a permanent spot.

On defense, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Tyler Kleven will be the ones to watch from the younger side. While we don't know what Erik Brannstrom's future on the team is, we will see if this preseason shows any significant improvements to his game that could potentially make him invaluable to the team.

The #Sens have unveiled the team's 23-man roster ahead of tomorrow's 7 p.m. pre-season contest @CanadiensMTL.

The game group will hold a 10 a.m. skate @CdnTireCtr; media availability follows.

Gate 3 doors will open at 9:30 a.m. on 9/27. pic.twitter.com/jtHpS9Ua52

— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) September 26, 2023

Game Notes:

• Josh Bailey will have another chance to impress. He didn't have a standout game against the Leafs but it wasn't a disaster either.
• I expect the Sens will not ice many of the big stars the next two games to save their energy for the Nova Scotia trip. Afterall, I think the fans are expecting to see the stars play in those two games.
• Boko Imama is quickly becoming a fan favourite, while I don't see him making the team out of camp; I don't doubt that we will see him as a call up a few times this season.
• Joonas Korpisalo is expected to start the game but with the roster he's playing behind, it'll be hard to judge his performance. Still exciting to see what he and Forsberg will do for us this season.