MONTREAL — Describing the Senators as pesky doesn’t do them justice.

Persistent would be more accurate. And in some ways, they have become predictable.

The Senators erased a two-goal deficit, but still managed to pick up a point as Lars Eller scored in the shootout to hand Ottawa a 4-3 loss to the first-place Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

Though goalie Robin Lehner made 42 stops in 65 minutes, he wasn’t pleased with his effort in the shootout.