March 10, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans (71) shakes hands with teammates after scoring a third period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Image Montreal’s Jake Evans will look to extend his point streak to six games Wednesday night when the Canadiens visit the Ottawa Senators.
Montreal sits in third place in the Atlantic Division after a 3-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. The Canadiens are one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and two points ahead of the Boston Bruins in the division.
The Senators, who have won three in a row, are five points behind the Bruins as they begin a three-game homestand.
The Canadiens, who are 7-1-3 in their last 11 games, took a 2-0 lead in Game 1 against the Maple Leafs and held on until Evans scored on an empty-net goal in the third inning to seal the win.
“I think it was our most complete game,” he said. “It felt like the third period. We controlled most of it but didn’t get a third, maybe even a fourth goal. They fought hard to fight back, but I’m happy with how complete that game was.”
Evans, who went scoreless in 4 consecutive games, has 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 5 consecutive games.
Rookies Oliver Kapanen and Filip Dano also scored, and Jakub Doves made 17 saves for Montreal against Toronto.
“We played well,” Dano said. “We gave up a few second chances but the Dobes were solid. That’s what we need right now. It gave us confidence and we continued to do our job. Big two points tonight.”
The Senators have won seven straight games (5-0-2) after a 2-0 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night. James Reimer, making his first start since February 5, recorded 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd of his career.
Ridly Greig and captain Brady Tkachuk each had a goal for the Senators.
“It was a perfect game,” coach Travis Green said. “It’s a combination of our defensive game, take a lot of pride in that, our penalty kill did a great job, we knew we needed this win.”
Tim Stutzle had an assist, extending his point streak to 13 games (8 goals, 9 assists).
Ottawa was without defenseman Jake Sanderson for the week after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.
“Isn’t there an old adage that you can’t replace him, everyone has to pitch in?” Reimer said. “But I think we’re built as a group, as a culture, to be able to do that. … We dig in and know that we have to do a good job and be ready to play.”
Ottawa and Montreal will meet for the fourth time this season. Alex Newhook scored in overtime in Ottawa’s 4-3 win on Nov. 1, while Tkachuk and Fabian Zetterlund each had a goal and an assist for the Senators in a 5-2 win on Dec. 2.
On January 17, Montreal scored in overtime to win 6-5.
Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault is 5-5-0 with a career 3.52 goals-against average and .874 save percentage against the Senators.
Linus Ullmark is 5-4-1 with a GAA of 3.27 and a save percentage of .874 vs. the Canadiens.
–Field level media
