Game 48: Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Sabres region: MSG Buffalo
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
For this most important game of the season to date for the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis is trusting 21-year-old Jacob Fowler with the start. It’s nothing new for the rookie netminder who has been tasked with games versus the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings over the past few weeks, emerging as the Habs’ number-one goaltender a couple of seasons earlier than expected.
Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff say yesterday’s match versus the Philadelphia Flyers as the key one of this back-to-back for his team, using starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to help the Sabres stay above one of the teams chasing them in the wild-card race. As the Canadiens try to extend the gap to the Sabres from five points to as many as seven with a regulation win, it will be Colten Ellis in net for just his 11th NHL start, all of which have come this season.
The two teams that will square off tonight have been among the best in the NHL since early December, and they’ve needed to be to hold their playoff positions in the Atlantic Division. They bring slightly different styles to this battle, with the Sabres being the more defensively sound club while the Canadiens try to outscore opponents each night. Montreal does get a helping hand on the defensive end in this game with Kaiden Guhle back in after sitting out on Tuesday as he gets eased back into the fray.
For Montreal to win, they need to do a better job of making their scoring chances count. In the past two games they’ve left a lot of goals on the table, which didn’t cost them versus the Vancouver Canucks, but did prevent them from getting a bigger lead before fatigue set in versus the Washington Capitals. Montreal is the more rested team in this one, and has the talent to turn that into a little more breathing room in the unrelenting Atlantic.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský | #91 Oliver Kapanen | #93 Ivan Demidov |
| #13 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #85 Alexandre Texier |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc | #24 Phillip Danault | #17 Josh Anderson |
| #27 Sammy Blais | #90 Joe Veleno | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #8 Mike Matheson | #53 Noah Dobson |
| #48 Lane Hutson | #45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #72 Arber Xhekaj |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #32 Jacob Fowler | #75 Jakub Dobeš |
Scratched: Owen Beck, Samuel Montembeault, Jayden Struble
Injured: Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook
Buffalo Sabres projected lineup
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Benson | Tage Thompson | Alex Tuch |
| Jason Zucker | Ryan McLeod | Jack Quinn |
| Noah Ostlund | Peyton Krebs | Josh Doan |
| Jordan Greenway | Tyson Kozak | Beck Malenstyn |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Mattias Samuelsson | Rasmus Dahlin |
| Bowen Byram | Michael Kesselring |
| Owen Power | Zach Metsa |
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Colten Ellis | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
