Winners of five of their last seven games, the Montreal Canadiens will look to get back into the win column as they host the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
The Canadiens (7-9-1) saw their season-high three-game winning streak snapped Thursday night when they were shut out for the third time this season by a score of 3-0 against the visiting Minnesota Wild. Habs rookie goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who has started the previous two games, allowed two goals on 34 shots as Wild forward Jason Zucker had his first career NHL hat trick. The loss was Lindgren’s first in his brief NHL career.
This is Montreal’s second meeting with the Sabres (5-9-2) this season, with Buffalo losing their first game 3-2 in a shootout back on October 5. The game saw Sabres forward Jason Pominville score two goals in his return to play in Buffalo after playing the past four-and-a-half seasons with the Wild. Montreal got goals from captain Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault in regulation, and newly-acquired Jonathan Drouin potted the shootout winner.
Buffalo has been a team that has struggled as of late, unable to put consistency on the scoresheet, and in the standings. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season when current New York Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff was their head coach, and former Canadien defenceman Craig Rivet was their team captain.
They are led in goals (9) and points (16) by forward Evander Kane, and goaltender Robin Lehner has four of the team’s five wins. Last night they were beaten by forward Jonathan Huberdeau and the Florida Panthers 4-1. Huberdeau finished the game with three helpers.
Montreal has recently been bit by the injury bug, with Drouin, blueliner Shea Weber and goaltender Carey Price, all sitting out of Thursday night’s tilt. Drouin should be back inm and Weber will be a game-time decision, with the defender leaning toward being able to play.
Regular backup goaltender Al Montoya sustained an upper-body injury in practice Friday, and the team called up Zachary Fucale from the Laval Rocket on an emergency basis.
Buffalo also has a lot of players on the shelf, with seven regulars out of the lineup with injuries. Former Habs first round pick Nathan Beaulieu is likely to make his regular season return to Montreal where he played for parts of the last five seasons.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
How to watch
In Canada: SN (English), TVA-S (French)
In the Sabres region: MSG-B
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Galchenyuk | Jonathan Drouin | Artturi Lehkonen |
| Max Pacioretty | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
| Paul Byron | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Charles Hudon | Jacob de la Rose | Byron Froese |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Jordie Benn | Shea Weber |
| Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
| Victor Mete | Joe Morrow |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Charlie Lindgren |
| Zachary Fucale |
Scratched: Torrey Mitchell, Brandon Davidson
Injured: Ales Hemsky (concussion-like symptoms), David Schlemko (hand), Nikita Scherbak (lower-body), Carey Price (lower-body)
Buffalo Sabres projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Evander Kane | Jack Eichel | Jason Pominville |
| Benoit Pouliot | Ryan O’Reilly | Kyle Okposo |
| Nick Baptiste | Sam Reinhart | Seth Griffith |
| Zemgus Girgensons | Johan Larsson | Jordan Nolan |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Marco Scandella | Josh Gorges |
| Jake McCabe | Justin Falk |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Taylor Fedun |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Chad Johnson |
| Robin Lehner |
