Editing Ottawa Senators (section)

===Montreal Canadiens===
There is a long-standing Ottawa-Montreal rivalry (dating back to the 1800s) in multiple sports including ice hockey.<ref>{{cite news |work=Halifax Chronicle-Herald |title=Montreal edges Ottawa in front of historic crowd: Professional Women's Hockey League |first=Don |last=Brennan |date=January 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=Toronto Star |title=Adding Ottawa just a start, as CFL ponders more growth ; League will test Halifax, London, Quebec markets |date=October 27, 2001 |page=E06}}</ref> Today, both teams compete in the Atlantic Division. There is only a two-hour drive from [[Montreal]] to Ottawa via [[Quebec Autoroute 40]] and [[Ontario Highway 417]], plus railway and air connections. When the teams play in Ottawa, "the games matter" according to sports writer Wayne Scanlan of the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', and many Canadiens fans turn out in Montreal jerseys.<ref name=Scanlan>{{cite news |work=The Ottawa Citizen |title=Suddenly, a rivalry regains lustre |first=Wayne |last=Scanlan |date=November 16, 2003 |page=B1}}</ref> The current rivalry began when the Ottawa Senators' first NHL game was held in Ottawa on October 8, 1992, where the expansion Senators beat the [[Montreal Canadiens]] 5–3.<ref name=Scanlan/> That victory was one of the only Senators' highlights of their inaugural season; they won only nine more games the rest of the season to finish with 10 wins and 24 points, while the Canadiens won their [[1993 Stanley Cup Finals|24th Stanley Cup]] that season. Another regular season highlight of the Canadiens–Ottawa rivalry was the [[NHL 100 Classic]] played at [[TD Place Stadium]] outdoors in Ottawa in December 2017, celebrating the centennial of the first NHL game between the original Senators and the Canadiens.

The rivalry existed prior to the teams meeting in the playoffs, especially as the teams both became competitive in the early 2000s and Ottawa's captain [[Daniel Alfredsson]] was among those who hoped for a playoff series between the two.<ref>{{cite news |work=Ottawa Sun |first=Don |last=Brennan |title=Wild ride for Phillips ; Sens' shut-down D-man has up-and-down week |date=November 10, 2008 |page=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=The Ottawa Citizen |first=Wayne |last=Scanlan |title=Perfect dance partners: The Senators-Canadiens rivalry deserves a postseason pairing |date=January 14, 2007 |page=D1}}</ref> The hoped-for playoff series finally came in [[2013 Stanley Cup playoffs|2013]]. In that series, there were a large number of controversial events. In game one, Ottawa's [[Eric Gryba]] laid out Montreal's [[Lars Eller]] in an open ice hit. After the game, the Senators' head coach [[Paul MacLean (ice hockey)|Paul MacLean]] blamed [[Raphael Diaz]] for a suicide pass.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grantland.com/features/eric-gryba-suspension-lars-eller-hit/|title=After the Hit|last=Dryden|first=Ken|publisher=ESPN Enterprises, Inc.|date=May 8, 2013|website=Grantland.com|accessdate=January 12, 2025}}</ref> Later, Canadiens' coach [[Michel Therrien]] responded and said that what MacLean said was a "lack of respect." Ottawa won that game 4–2. [[Brandon Prust]] later insulted MacLean after the game, saying that he doesn't care what that "bug-eyed, fat walrus has to say."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Sens-Habs series gets ugly:Eric Gryba suspended two games for Lars Eller hit|url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/sens-habs-series-gets-ugly-eric-gryba-suspended-two-games-for-lars-eller-hit|magazine=The Hockey News|date=May 3, 2013|accessdate=August 8, 2015}}</ref> In game three, there was a full line brawl between Ottawa and Montreal. And later in that game, Paul MacLean called a timeout with 17 seconds left in the third period with a 6–1 lead. Michel Therrien called Maclean classless while Maclean responded by saying that he was protecting his players from Montreal's dirty play in that game.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/04/12/a-look-back-at-the-2013-series-between-sens-and-habs|title=A look back at the 2013 series between Sens and Habs|last=Brennan|first=Don|date=April 12, 2015|newspaper=Ottawa Sun|accessdate=August 8, 2015}}</ref> The Senators eventually won the series 4–1.

[[2015 Stanley Cup playoffs|Two years later]], the rivalry was renewed in another playoff series.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ottawasun.com/2015/04/12/a-look-back-at-the-2013-series-between-sens-and-habs|title=A look back at the 2013 series between Sens and Habs|last=Brennan|first=Don|newspaper=Ottawa Sun|date=April 12, 2015|accessdate=January 12, 2025}}</ref> In game one, Montreal's [[P. K. Subban]] slashed Ottawa's [[Mark Stone]] – breaking his wrist – and Subban was later ejected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mark-stone-suffers-fractured-wrist-from-p-k-subban-slash-1.3035802 |title=Mark Stone suffers fractured wrist from P.K. Subban slash|last=Harrison|first=Doug|publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada|date=April 16, 2015|website=CBC.ca|accessdate=July 30, 2015}}</ref> Senators' coach [[Dave Cameron (ice hockey)|Dave Cameron]] called the slash vicious and said that Subban deserved a suspension.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/nhl-canadiens-pk-subban-ejected-for-slash-on-mark-stone |title=Senators coach makes threat after P.K. Subban's atrocious slash|last=Brehm|first=Mike|website=FTW.USAToday.com|date=April 15, 2015|publisher=For The Win|accessdate=August 8, 2015}}</ref> Ottawa's [[Clarke MacArthur]] called it a lumberjack slash, and Mark Stone said that he was being targeted all game. Meanwhile, Michel Therrien said that Subban did not deserve to be ejected and should have only gotten a minor penalty. The Canadiens won that game 4–3. The Canadiens won the next two games in overtime. Riding a 3–0 lead in the series, the Canadiens saw Ottawa win the next two games, before closing the series in game six with a 2–0 victory in Ottawa.

As of the end of the 2023–24 season, Montreal leads the current Ottawa Senators in the regular season series 81–65–5–16, while Ottawa leads 6–5 in the playoff record.<ref name="WLrecords"/>