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Mayer, a native of the Czech Republic who now lives in Switzerland, stopped 18 of 19 shots in 30 minutes of play in his first NHL preseason game.

"I was a little nervous before the game but once I got in, I felt pretty good," Mayer said.

He's never played before 21,000 fans before but he said: "You don't notice when you're out there."

Mayer spent most of last season with Cincinnati in the ECHL but there's opening for Hamilton after the Canadiens traded Cdrick Desjardins.

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David Desharnais was one of the smallest players on the ice, but he made a big impact as the Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

His linemates, Andrei Kostitsyn and Mathieu Darche, each scored a goal last night and the 5-foot-7 Desharnais played a key role in both goals.

"I thought they played well; they competed hard," said coach Jacques Martin. "Desharnais is a smart player and he made a real good play on the power-play goal. Andrei gave us a good game. There was a real good forecheck that got the turnover on his goal."

The good forecheck was supplied by Desharnais, who pestered Chris Phillips as he tried to work his out of the Ottawa zone. The result was a bad pass which set up Kostitsyn.

"When you get a goal, it gets you going," Desharnais said. "Andrei scored and it got him going. And when he's like that, he's easy to play with. The same thing with Mathieu, he's a great player and he goes to the net."

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