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Jan. 28, 2023: Canadiens at Senators — Five things you should know

The Laval Line with Alex Belzile between Michael Pezzetta and Rafael Harvey-Pinard is producing for Habs.

Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach throws a punch at Detroit Red Wings' Andrew Copp during second period in Montreal on Jan. 26, 2023.
Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach throws a punch at Detroit Red Wings' Andrew Copp during second period in Montreal on Jan. 26, 2023. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette

Here are five things you should know about Saturday’s game between the Canadiens (20-25-4) and Senators (22-23-3) at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre (7 p.m., CBC, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

Cellar dwellers: The Canadiens are in last place in the Atlantic Division, but can move within one point of the Senators with a regulation-time win. The Canadiens were expected to be near the bottom of the standings during a rebuilding year, but the Senators were expected to be in the playoff hunt after adding forwards Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat during the off-season. After beating the Maple Leafs 6-2 in Toronto Friday night, the Senators were only six points ahead of their pace last season — when they were 18-25-5 after 48 games — and they were 10 points out of a wild-card playoff spot. The Canadiens are 19 points ahead of their pace last season, when they were 9-33-7 after 49 games.

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The Laval Line: The Canadiens’ line of Alex Belzile between Michael Pezzetta and Rafael Harvey-Pinard was their best during a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night at the Bell Centre, combining for seven points. Harvey-Pinard had two goals and an assist, while Pezetta had a goal and an assist and Belzile had two assists. The three were linemates with the Laval Rocket last season and Belzile and Harvey-Pinard were called up from the AHL this month. In five games since being called, Harvey-Pinard has three goals — the same amount Joel Armia has in 32 games and three more goals than Jonathan Drouin has in 28 games. Belzile has four assists in three games since being called up, while Pezzetta has 1-2-3 totals in the last three games.

Allen returns: After missing eight games with an upper-body injury, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen had a strong performance against the Red Wings, stopping 38 of the 42 shots he faced. Allen has a 10-16-2 record with a 3.53 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. While Allen was sidelined, Samuel Montembeault — who will start in Ottawa — posted a 4-4 record with a .930 save percentage, improving his season record to 10-9-2 with a 3.14 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

Dach drops gloves: Centre Kirby Dach had only the second fight of his NHL career against the Red Wings when he dropped the gloves and pummelled Andrew Copp five seconds into the second period. “Big picture, I loved it,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said about Dach dropping the gloves. Dach also had an assist against the Red Wings, coming up a goal short of a Gordie Howe hat-trick. In the last eight games, Dach has 4-4-8 totals.

Sad news for Sens: The Senators announced Tuesday that assistant coach Bob Jones has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis (ALS). Jones’s diagnosis came in early January and he told the Ottawa players and coaches shortly afterward. The team announced his diagnosis this week because Jones and his family want to raise awareness for ALS research. The 53-year-old is in his fourth season with the Senators and will continue to do his job.

scowan@postmedia.com

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