Canadiens @ Sabres: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now (English)
In the Canadiens region: RDS, RDS Direct (French)
In the Sabres region: MSG-B
Elsewhere: NHL.tv / NHL Live

Sitting back and watching a few games since their last action on Saturday, the Canadiens find themselves still occupying a playoff position, despite the majority of teams in the Eastern Conference playing more games. One of the teams above them is the Buffalo Sabres, who have at least a point in all three matches they’ve played.

The Canadiens will make a few changes this evening, swapping out the duo of Brett Kulak and Cale Fleury for Mikey Reilly and Christian Folin, who will make their season debuts. In net, Keith Kinkaid gets his first call for a start in the first half of a back-to-back set, allowing Carey Price to take tomorrow’s home-opener. Kinkaid is 3-1-0 in his career versus the Sabres, with a .931 save percentage, so another good performance is what Claude Julien will be hoping for.

The goaltender will face not just Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, but the Sabres’ current top goal-scorer, rookie forward Victor Olofsson, and second-year defender Rasmus Dahlin, who leads the team with five points. It’s shaping up to be a good year for Buffalo, and that should provide plenty of reasons for the Canadiens to play their best game tonight.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Buffalo Sabres projected lineup