Senators fall to Montreal Canadiens in overtime as Opening Night nears

The Senators opened their preseason schedule on the Kraft Hockeyville stage with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens in front of more than 4,000 fans at the Centre Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières.

Dylan Cozens and William Eklund did the scoring for the Senators, while goaltender Samuel Ersson made 33 stops. Cole Caufield’s second of the game with a blast by Errsson on the stick side secured the win.

After four days on the ice, the Senators were looking forward to reaching the next phase. The club will play five exhibition games, including two split-squad games, before camp wraps up on Sunday.

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“You want to win every game, no matter what game it is,” Eklund told reporters in Trois-Rivières.

There aren’t many openings in this camp, but a couple of young players are pushing to stay in Ottawa. Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, is confident the Senators have what it takes to continue making progress.

“I made a commitment to my players and the fans that we weren’t going to take a step back. I feel good about where we’re at,” Staios told Sportsnet after the first period.

Acquired after spending his career with the Philadelphia Flyers, Ersson is expected to be a capable backup for Linus Ullmark and was signed to a two-year deal.

Ersson gives up a lot of rebounds, but he was solid. That’s all the Senators need from their backup this season. Many have said Ersson needed a change of scenery, and this is an opportunity for a fresh start.

He gave his club a chance to win and couldn’t do much on Caufield’s tying goal on the power play with 7:57 left in the game.