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

Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

How to watch

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+, NHL Live, RDS Direct, TSN Direct

Both the Canadiens and Sabres had higher hopes when the season started than finishing near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but now six weeks in, that’s where they find themselves, with the playoffs a distant dream. Neither club has been able to keep its best roster on the ice, and some key absences have proven critical ones.

You only need to look in goal tonight to see the biggest issues for both clubs. The Canadiens will be starting their third-string goaltender, Samuel Montembeault, in order to save their backup-turned-starter for tomorrow night, while Dustin Tokarski enters the net for Buffalo on a short leash. He was pulled from his last two starts, before the tables were turned as he came on in relief in the last game on Wednesday.

Offensively, it’s Artturi Lehkonen versus Tage Thompson to see which player can keep his hot hand; just like everyone imagined at the start of the year. One of the main reasons why Montreal’s plucky Finn is leading the way is because he’s able to do a lot of the work himself, bypassing a defence corps that hasn’t been playing much of a role in the offence or transition game (or in the defence either, if we’re being honest). In a bid to help them out, Dominique Ducharme is bringing Mattias Norlinder back into the fold, holding him as a seventh defenceman at the expense of Cédric Paquette, not ready to give the rookie blue-liner a spot on a pairing just yet.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

Buffalo Sabres projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders