OTTAWA — The Senators and Canadiens will take their preseason show into the heart of Quebec on Monday, with Colisee Videotron in Trois-Rivieres hosting a Kraft Hockeyville night that carries plenty of local ties and plenty of bigger-picture ambition.
Saint-Boniface gets the spotlight
Montreal and Ottawa meet Monday at 7 p.m. ET on TVAS and SN1, celebrating Saint-Boniface, the nearby community selected as the Kraft Hockeyville winner. Saint-Boniface is roughly 20 minutes from Trois-Rivieres, and the event returns to Quebec for the first time since Montreal beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in Roberval on Sept. 23, 2008.
- The Senators are opening their preseason schedule in Trois-Rivieres and bring a 3-6-0 Hockeyville record into the event.
- Ottawa last appeared in the program two seasons ago, falling 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Elliot Lake, Ontario.
- Drake Batherson scored the overtime winner in Ottawa’s 3-2 Hockeyville victory over Montreal in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, on Oct. 8, 2022.
- In 2023, Batherson posted a goal and three assists when the Senators defeated the Florida Panthers 4-2 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Batherson played his junior hockey with Cape Breton in the QMJHL from 2015 through 2018, making that Sydney appearance especially personal. The forward, who signed an eight-year, $86 million extension Wednesday that begins next season and carries a $10.75 million annual cap hit, said small-community games create a different kind of connection.
“It’s great to get involved with the smaller towns,” Batherson said. “I’m from a small town myself, so I understand what it means to the kids. You try to enjoy it with them and make the most of it.”
Local faces around the rink
The game is set up to feel close to home for players and coaches on both benches. Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc was born in Trois-Rivieres, while Ottawa forward Xavier Bourgault spent his QMJHL years with Shawinigan, only about 10 minutes from Saint-Boniface.
- Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis and Senators defenseman Samuel Bolduc, who is not related to Zachary Bolduc, are from Laval, about 90 minutes south.
- Samuel Bolduc also played junior hockey for Blainville in the QMJHL.
- Montreal goaltender Sam Montembeault grew up in nearby Becancour, around 20 minutes from Trois-Rivieres.
- Montembeault has a home five minutes from Arena de Saint-Boniface, where he and his wife, Daryanne, welcomed daughter Margot in July.
Montembeault remembers the area from summer hockey and said the new facility is a major step for the community. He recalled the old conditions, saying there had once been “ice outside the ice,” and called the new rink an important addition for Saint-Boniface.
Samuel Bolduc hopes to dress against Ottawa, even though he never played inside the rink itself. He said he competed in that area as a younger player and knows it as “a nice place” with a strong hockey setting.
Two clubs trying to take the next step
The exhibition date arrives with both Atlantic Division clubs looking past a single September night. Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson summed up the Senators’ focus simply: keep building.
The Senators earned consecutive playoff berths after ending a seven-year postseason drought in 2024-25. They went 45-30-7 that season, then finished 44-27-11 last year before being swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round.
That series was closer than the four-game result suggested. Carolina, which went on to win the Stanley Cup, took Game 1 by a 2-0 score and Game 4 by a 4-2 margin. Ottawa lost Game 2 in double overtime, 3-2, and dropped Game 3 by a 2-1 count.
The Senators had entered the playoffs on a strong run, going 16-5-4 after the Milano Cortina Olympics break, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference over that stretch. Sanderson said Ottawa must become more reliable night to night, create more offense and empty the tank if it wants to be regarded as a genuine Cup threat.
Goaltender Linus Ullmark, 33, sees a club that has changed dramatically since Boston traded him to Ottawa on June 24, 2024. The Senators even brought in referees for their first camp scrimmage on the second day of training camp, another sign of a group trying to set its standards early.
“If you compare where this team was five years ago with where it is now, it’s completely different,” Ullmark said. “That applies to the players and the organization. It’s enjoyable to be moving forward and seeing the progress we’ve made.”
Montreal embraces higher expectations
The Canadiens bring back the core of a 48-24-10 club that collected 106 points last season before Carolina eliminated Montreal in five games in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hurricanes ultimately finished the job against Ottawa’s first-round conquerors and claimed the Stanley Cup.
Montreal added veteran forward Chris Kreider, 35, on a one-year deal Sept. 12. Two days later, St. Louis agreed to a four-year contract, securing the Hall of Fame forward’s future behind the Canadiens bench.
St. Louis owns a 163-155-47 record over five seasons as Montreal coach. He said his players are not shying away from the heightened standard after last season’s run.
“They’re engaged with the expectations and they’re accepting them,” St. Louis said. “What stands out to me is the attitude on the ice. The group looks hungry, not only with its work rate, but in its engagement and in the conversations we’re having.”
Monday’s game will not settle either club’s season, but it offers an early look at two teams carrying playoff scars, rising expectations and a shared desire to keep moving forward — while Saint-Boniface gets its own moment under the lights.
