MTL@OTT: Game recap

KANATA - A costly second period was too much for the Canadiens to overcome on Saturday, falling 6-4 to the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre.

It was the Habs' first game since the passing of Guy Lafleur, and the players all had No. 10 patches sewn onto their sweaters in the Hall-of-Famer's honor.

More than a Montreal legend, Lafleur's death was a loss to the entire hockey world, and the Sens paid tribute to his legacy pregame.

The hospitality ended there however, as the hosts got on the board quickly following puck drop. Mark Kastelic scored at 2:33 to open his NHL account.
But the Canadiens outshot the Senators by a wide margin in the stanza, eventually beating Anton Forsberg at 15:57 to tie things 1-1. Rem Pitlick was left alone in front of the net, taking a pass from Jake Evans and firing it home for the equalizer.

Through 20 minutes Montreal held a 16-6 advantage in shots.
Ottawa opened the second period with another early goal, scoring just 44 seconds into the frame to retake the lead. Austin Watson deflected Nick Holden's blue line shot to beat Carey Price glove side.
The Sens then scored three goals over a span of 67 seconds to jump out to a 5-1 lead before the game reached its halfway mark. Parker Kelly and Josh Norris scored at 6:43 and 7:15, respectively, before Kastelic added his second of the night at 7:50.
Cole Caufield got one back at 8:43 to reach the 20-goal plateau in his rookie season. Caufield took a pass from Mike Hoffman in the slot and beat Forsberg stick side to make it 5-2.

Joel Edmundson pulled the Canadiens within a pair at 17:17 with his third of the season. Jeff Petry notably earned an assist on the sequence while playing in his 800th NHL game.

Alex Formenton capped the seven-goal second period at 18:05 to make it 6-3 heading into intermission.
Montreal's edge in the shot department was 32-24 after two.
It was the Canadiens who scored first in the final frame, with Pitlick picking up his second of the night at 8:19. Pitlick cleaned up a Brendan Gallagher rebound in front of Forsberg to make it 6-4.

But that was as close as Montreal would get, losing an eighth game in a row despite ending the night with 48 shots on goal.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre.