The Montréal Canadiens played a dominant game against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, though it took them until the third period and a five-minute major powerplay for them to get the lead. Once that happened, they were able to roll all forward lines and defence pairings more evenly to conserve more energy for tonight’s game. The Canadiens are playing the Buffalo Sabres, another team near the bottom of the standings, for the second game in as many nights.
The last time these two teams met was during the season opening game back in early October, when the Canadiens won 4-1. Brendan Gallagher was the star of that game, scoring a pair of goals, but he is still out with his hand injury. The top forward combination of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Radulov got the job done on the powerplay versus the Devils, although they’ll be looking to use their forward depth to score more goals during even-strength play. The Canadiens will have to come out strong again, as letting their guard down. even against a lower echelon team. could be dangerous.
The Sabres will be bringing some strong forward depth of their own, seeing as scored as many goals as the Canadiens since the new year. Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart have been producing well during that period of time, spread over two lines of attack. They’ve also allowed fewer goals against, though the Canadiens’ defensive core should be considered better than Buffalo’s. The Habs will need to use their speed to pressure the opposing defence and take away their space, which should lead to taking control of the game.
How to watch:
Puck drop: 7 PM EST / 4 PM PST
In Canada: Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the United States: MSG-Buffalo
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL Gamecenter Live, NHL Center Ice
Montréal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Max Pacioretty | Jonathan Drouin | Alex Galchenyuk |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Tomas Plekanec | Ales Hemsky |
| Paul Byron | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
| Charles Hudon | Jacob de la Rose | Brendan Gallagher |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Victor Mete | Shea Weber |
| Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
| Joe Morrow | Jordie Benn |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Antti Niemi |
| Charlie Lindgren |
Injuries: Brendan Gallagher (hand), Andrei Markov (groin), David Desharnais (knee), Greg Pateryn (ankle)
Scratches: Daniel Carr, Ryan Johnston
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lines
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Evander Kane | Jack Eichel | Jason Pominville |
| Benoit Pouliot | Ryan O’Reilly | Kyle Okposo |
| Zemgus Girgensons | Sam Reinhart | Seth Griffith |
| Johan Larsson | Jacob Josefson | Jordan Nolan |
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Nathan Beaulieu | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Marco Scandella | Matt Tennyson |
| Jake McCabe | Viktor Antipin |
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Robin Lehner |
| Chad Johnson |
Injuries: Jake McCabe (right shoulder), Josh Gorges (hip), Johan Larsson (wrist), Dmitry Kulikov (lower back), Cody McCormick (blood clots)
Scratches: Nicolas Deslauriers
