The Habs look to bounce back after a trouncing against the Atlantic Division’s top team, hitting the ice against an opponent they match better against, a team that is only five points back of them and has spent most of this season on the bottom rungs of the standings.
This year’s edition of the Montreal Canadiens will be one that is slotted in at the bottom of the class as well when the season comes to a close. While the injuries have piled up all season, a lack of adjustments made on a management and coaching level are among many things to be evaluated when this dozen remaining games have run their merciful course.
In the meantime, Alex Galchenyuk will be reaching for the thirty-goal milestone, and is four goals off reaching that mark for the first time in his career. His linemate Max Pacioretty is six goals off that mark. This might be the first season since 2011-12 (the last Habs’ season better off forgotten) that the Habs have had more than one thirty-goal scorer on their team (Erik Cole had 35 goals, and Max Pacioretty had 32 that season).
The Habs will be looking to win the season series against the Sabres tonight, as both teams have two wins in the season best-of-five. The Sabres have only played one game since they last met the Habs last Thursday, a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Sabres will be getting Ryan O’Reilly back in their lineup, after he missed 11 games with a foot injury.
Lineup notes: Both Nathan Beaulieu and Lars Eller will return to the lineup tonight; Steffan Matteau will be the odd man out, while Darren Deitz was sent back to St. John’s as he was on an emergency call-up; Ben Scrivens gets the start in net tonight. Lines shown below are tentative given any updates closer to puck drop.
The puck drops at 7:00 PM EDT.
How To Watch:
In Canada (French): RDS
In Canada (English): Sportsnet
In the Sabres’ Region: MSG-B
Elsewhere: NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice, NHL.TV
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | Alex Galchenyuk | Sven Andrighetto |
| Paul Byron | Tomas Plekanec | Torrey Mitchell |
| Lars Eller | Michael McCarron | Lucas Lessio |
| Jacob de la Rose | Philip Danault | Mike Brown |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | Mark Barberio |
| Alexei Emelin | Greg Pateryn |
| Victor Bartley |
Nathan Beaulieu |
| Goaltenders |
| Ben Scrivens |
| Mike Condon |
Scratched: Steffan Matteau
Injuries: Carey Price (lower body), Daniel Carr (lower body), Jeff Petry (lower body), Brian Flynn (lower body), David Desharnais (broken foot), Tom Gilbert (lower body), Brendan Gallagher (lower body), P.K. Subban (neck)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Evander Kane | Ryan O’Reilly | Nicolas Deslauriers |
| Zemgus Girgensons | Jack Eichel | Sam Reinhart |
| Marcus Foligno | Johan Larsson | Brian Gionta |
| Cal O’Reilly | David Legwand | Matt Moulson |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Josh Gorges | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Jake McCabe | Zach Bogosian |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | Mark Pysyk |
| Goaltenders |
| Robin Lehner |
| Chad Johnson |
Scratched: Cody Franson
Injuries: Tyler Ennis (upper body), Cody McCormick (blood clots)
Check out the enemy over at Die By the Blade.
