The Habs have been making a go at pulling up the crashing jet that is the 2015-16 season. What started off as a flight high up in the clouds, nothing but smooth skies ahead turned into a violent two-month spiral that is only now coming to a potential end.
A win over the Lightning on Tuesday provided some hope that the Habs can string together some wins and make a serious push for the playoffs.
Controversy surrounding the return of Carey Price surged today, as La Presse announced he probably won’t come back for the regular season. Michel Therrien did his best to deflect the report, protecting his player and responding to the report by saying Price is working hard on coming back to the NHL, not trying to get his beach-bod ready for summer.
Carey’s team will try to “Carey On” tonight and continue to build off a series of games where their hard work and possession paid off. The Habs will try to solve the enigma that is the Buffalo Sabres. The Habs have only beaten the Sabres twice in the past two seasons (2-3-1), including a 7-2 romp back in October. Hopefully the Canadiens will find their form from that game, and not from their more recent 4-2 loss just over a week ago.
The Sabres lost 5-1 to the Flyers last night, so the Habs will look to take advantage of the fact they are well rested, while their opponent will be working extra hard to bounce back from a bad loss.
Line-up notes: Paul Byron draws back into the lineup after missing three games with a lower body injury; Byron will fill the spot left by Brian Flynn’s absence due to a long-term lower body injury; Nathan Beaulieu will also be out with a lower body injury, meaning Greg Pateryn will play in his 12th game this season.
The puck drops at 7:00 PM EST.
How To Watch:
In Canada (French): RDS
In Canada (English): Sportsnet East
In the Sabres region: MSG-B
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Max Pacioretty | David Desharnais | Sven Andrighetto |
| Tomas Fleischmann | Lars Eller | Devante Smith-Pelly |
| Paul Byron | Torrey Mitchell | Dale Weise |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Mark Barberio | Tom Gilbert |
| Alexei Emelin | Greg Pateryn |
| Goaltenders |
| Ben Scrivens |
| Mike Condon |
Scratched: Jacob de le Rose
Injuries: Carey Price (lower body), Daniel Carr (lower body), Lucas Lessio (lower body), Jeff Petry (lower body), Nathan Beaulieu (lower body), Brian Flynn (lower body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Ryan O’Reilly | Jamie McGinn |
| Evander Kane | Sam Reinhart | Brian Gionta |
| Marcus Foligno | Jack Eichel | Matt Moulson |
| Daniel Catenacci | David Legwand | Justin Bailey |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Josh Gorges | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Jake McCabe | Cody Franson |
| Zach Bogosian | Mark Pysyk |
| Goaltenders |
| Chad Johnson |
| Robin Lehner |
Scratched: Carlo Colaiacovo, Mike Weber
Injuries: Johan Larsson (undisclosed), Zemgus Girgensons (lower body), Tyler Ennis (upper body), Cody McCormick (blood clots)
Check out the enemy over at Die By The Blade.
