Cole Caufield scored twice, including the overtime winner at 3:19, as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in NHL preseason play Monday at a Kraft Hockeyville game in Trois-Rivieres, Que. It was Ottawa’s preseason opener and its first game since trading captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on June 22, according to NHL.com. The Edmonton Oilers did not play Monday; they are next in action Tuesday at the Winnipeg Jets, a rematch of Saturday’s 5-2 win already covered by this outlet.
Montreal 3, Ottawa 2 (OT)
William Eklund, acquired by Ottawa from the San Jose Sharks over the summer in a trade involving the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft, opened the scoring just 1:29 into his Senators debut, per NHL.com’s recap. Jayden Struble also scored for Montreal, while Dylan Cozens had a goal and an assist for Ottawa before Caufield settled it in overtime.
Elsewhere on a busy Monday slate, the New Jersey Devils improved to 2-0-0 in preseason play with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at Prudential Center. Jack Hughes scored the winner at 17:48 of the third period, assisted by Jesper Bratt and Brett Pesce, while Timo Meier had a goal and an assist and Nico Hischier also scored for New Jersey, which outshot the Rangers 31-18. Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand stopped 28 shots in the loss, according to a recap published by Community News.
The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 as Jonny Brodzinski scored twice, one of them shorthanded, and Dylan Strome added a goal and an assist; Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas also scored for Washington. In Pittsburgh, Bryan Rust had a goal and two assists and Connor Dewar added a goal and an assist as the Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1. The Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in a shootout, with Conor Garland scoring the deciding goal and goaltender Jet Greaves turning aside all 16 shots he faced through two periods, according to NHL.com’s Sept. 21 preseason roundup.
Rangers forward Adam Sykora left Monday’s game with a lower-body injury after a first-period collision and did not return, NHL.com reported. In roster notes, Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista made their Devils debuts, while goaltender Joseph Woll played his first game for Philadelphia since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 16.
Edmonton’s preseason continues Tuesday in Winnipeg, followed by road and home dates against Vancouver on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday, before the Oilers open the regular season Sept. 29 against the Canucks at Rogers Place.
Photo: Chris Liverani, Unsplash
