The Ottawa Senators won't have much time to enjoy playing at home.

The Senators get a brief break from a grueling stretch of road games when they host the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Place on Monday.

Ottawa (6-9-1) has played six of its last seven on the road, going 1-5-1 overall in that stretch. The Senators completed a 1-2-1 road trip with a 4-3 loss in Boston on Saturday. Following this game, Ottawa goes back out on the road to play Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo and New Jersey.

However, home hasn't been all that friendly for the Senators either - they have won just two of seven games in their own building this season.

"Once you start losing a few, you start thinking about it and become more hesitant," captain Daniel Alfredsson said.

Chris Neil scored twice on Saturday for the Senators, and Jason Spezza, who leads the team with eight goals and 21 points, added a power-play goal. Ottawa has scored just nine times in 92 chances with the man advantage, ranking them among the worst power-play teams in the league.

Ottawa did not lose its ninth game last season until its 32nd contest.

The Senators may have a tough time scoring against Montreal, which is allowing just 2.73 goals per game this season. However, the Canadiens (8-4-3) have dropped two of three, including Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Saku Koivu scored the lone goal for Montreal, which is playing the second game of a four-game road trip. The Canadiens, who were outshot 41-26, have managed just five goals in their last three games.

"They just outworked us. We started losing battles to guys like Matt Stajan, guys that you wouldn't expect that would to out-compete us, but they did," Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray said.

Montreal allowed three power-play goals on eight chances, and have been a man down at least seven times in three of their last five games.

"That's what killed us tonight. We really made it hard for ourself with those calls," Koivu said.

Center Chris Higgins, who leads the team with eight goals, missed his second straight game because of a partially torn ligament in his right ankle.

Montreal went 4-3-1 against the Senators last season, including 1-2-1 in Ottawa. The teams have split their two matchups this season, both of which came in Montreal, with Higgins scoring a goal in each for Montreal.