Craig Anderson is slated to replace Andrew Hammond in nets for the Senators tonight as the Habs attempt to take a 3-0 stranglehold in their first-round playoff match-up in Kanata, west of Ottawa at 7 p.m.

Anderson, 33, the team's first-string goaltender, was plagued during the regular season by a bone bruise in his blocker hand before being replaced by Hammond who helped propel the team to the playoffs.

Anderson went 14-13-8 with a.923 save percentage in 35 appearances this season.

Montreal also announced the recall of six players from their AHL farm club in Hamilton: goaltender Mike Condon, defencemen Darren Dietz and Brett Lernout - who only played six games in the AHL after graduating from juniors - as well as forwards Christian Thomas, Daniel Carr and Charles Hudon.

The Bulldogs failed to make the playoffs and the team's time in Hamilton has ended as the AHL squad will move to St. John's, Newfoundland. The half-dozen players are not expected to suit up for Montreal.

Senators' tough guy Chris Neil, 35, is expected to start on the wing in place of Alex Chiasson. Neil played only 38 games and notched seven points in the regular season.

The Canadiens held an optional skate Saturday following their 4-3 overtime victory the evening prior, which was attended by 15 players, including Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau who missed the Friday game with an upper body injury.

Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher and Andrei Markov took the day off.

Max Pacioretty, who scored the first Habs goal Friday was at the practice and told reporters afterwards that the injury that sidelined him for two weeks might have been a blessing in disguise.

“It felt good to get a rest. We spent a lot of time on the road at the end of the season and I felt tired and sometimes had trouble keeping my eyes open before games. Getting two weeks off isn’t ideal but it helped me to recharge psychologically,” he told reporters.

The six AHL players called up will practice with the team but are not likely to see game action unless injuries pile up. Among those who were not called up were point leader T.J. Hensick, AHL veteran Gabriel Dumont, who notched 45 points in 66 games, as well as Sven Andrighetto and Eric Tangradi who both played several games with the big team this season. It's possible that the Habs prefer Andrighetto play in European competition with the Swiss national team this spring.

Defencemen Davis Drewiske who led the Bulldogs with a +15 and Jarred Tinordi were not available for call up due to injury.

-With a file from The Canadian Press