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Drake Batherson is being given every opportunity to make the Senators.

Saturday night was no different as he skated on a line with centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau and winger Anthony Duclair as the Senators faced the Montreal Canadiens in their final pre-season home game at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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The key for the 21-year-old Batherson is to reach up and grab the job before the final cuts are made next Sunday morning. He has the chance to be on the opening night roster against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and coach D.J. Smith is confident that Batherson can help the club score goals this season if he’s able to stick here.

“Drake does a lot of things. He’s a lot bigger guy on the ice than you see from up top and he really moves a lot quicker, too,” Smith said Saturday morning. “He’s a big guy that I think is going to be able get to net fronts and loose pucks, he’s heavy. I like a lot of the parts of his game.

“The stats weren’t great in the rookie tournament, they were just OK, but I see this guy being able to score some goals and being able to be a real power forward in this league.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter: @sungarrioch

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