When it comes to NHL preseason action against a division rival, this is much more like it. The Ottawa Senators concluded their 2025-26 preseason with a 3-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, and among the cast of usual suspects doing their part, was the preseason debut of veteran center Lars Eller.
The 36-year-old Dane signed a one-year deal worth $1.25M (with an additional $1M in potential bonuses) back in July, but revealed early in the preseason that he was recovering from a procedure on his abdomen. This potential absence opened up a spot on the 4th line for younger players such as Stephen Halliday and Jan Jenik, but Eller’s lone preseason performance has earned himself the right to start in that spot.
In 16:57 in last night’s contest, Eller won 11 of 16 faceoffs, put 5 shots on goal (all of them scoring chances according to Natural Stat Trick), contributed to Ottawa’s penalty kill, and scored an empty-net goal to seal the deal:
Fitting way to Lars Eller to cap off his preseason as he pots an empty-netter at the Bell Centre to ice it. Zetterlund helping him along with a bit of a push. pic.twitter.com/EhAWj78g4q
— Andrew Wilimek (@AndrewWilimek) October 5, 2025
Aside from Eller, defenseman Nick Jensen returned to action for the first time since his hip surgery, looking comfortable and nabbing an assist in 20:39 of ice-time, while fellow golden oldie David Perron used his superior positioning and hand-eye coordination to pick up a goal as well:
Quick tip drill 💨#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/m7Z6SReC3A
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 5, 2025
As is often the case, however, Jake Sanderson was the best player on the ice. Dominant in and between all three zones, and with a “fine, I’ll do it myself” mentality on the rush, he got the primary assist on Shane Pinto’s opening goal:
We love a #NoDakSens connection around here 💪#GoSensGo 🤝 @UNDmhockey pic.twitter.com/vvSLPpR2aK
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 4, 2025
Cole Caufield scored the lone goal for Montreal, while Linus Ullmark stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced for the good guys. Sam Montembeault was up to his usual standard of making the Habs look less incompetent than they are, with 25 saves on 27 shots.
Finishing the still-too-long preseason 3-3-0, the Sens will make the final cuts to their roster before their season opener in Tampa Bay on Thursday.
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