Ottawa Senators split preseason series with Montreal; Jake Sanderson exits early

The Ottawa Senators split a two-game preseason series with the Montreal Canadiens, defeating them 4-3 at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday but falling 4-2 in Montreal.

Defenseman Jake Sanderson, making his preseason debut after nursing an undisclosed ailment, left Saturday's game midway through the second period for what the team called precautionary reasons. Sanderson had registered an assist on Drake Batherson's goal at 10:51 of the second period on a 5-on-3 power play before departing. Head coach Travis Green told reporters: "He's fine. Precautionary."

William Eklund scored the overtime winner for Ottawa with a power-play goal in the third period, extending the Senators' man-advantage scoring to four goals for the night. Defenceman Thomas Chabot also made his preseason debut and played both games. André Burakovsky left Saturday's contest in the third period after a hard hit.

The team sent a mostly AHL lineup to Montreal while keeping most of the regular roster at home. With the 23-man NHL roster due to be finalized by 5 p.m. ET Monday, a significant number of players will be assigned to the Belleville AHL affiliate Sunday. Artem Zub, Warren Foegele, and Kurtis MacDermid are expected to start the season on injured reserve. Ridly Greig's two-game suspension to start the season opens potential opportunities for Phillip Tomasino and Sam Blais.