Game preview and how to watch
Game 51: Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres
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+, RDS, TSN+
Only two Atlantic Division teams played last night, and they faced each other, but still both the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs earned points. That’s just the nature of this section of the NHL, where six of the teams are racking up points in a battle that will see a maximum of five of them make the post-season.
That’s why the Montreal Canadiens’ final push to claim a win versus the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday was such an important result, not just because it came with two points, but because it was another regulation win, the first thing considered in any tie-breaking procedures at the end of the season. Montreal now at least holds the edge in that category over Toronto, and is three back of the 21 claimed by each of Detroit, the Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres.
The intradivisional battle on tonight’s schedule is the third game of the season series between the Canadiens and Sabres, one week after their previous duel. That wasn’t a great game from Montreal as the defencemen were unable to keep Buffalo’s top players from getting in close to Jacob Fowler in what ended up being the final game of his first NHL call-up. Tage Thompson stayed hot but scoring the only two goals of the third period, completing a hat trick and giving his team a big win versus one of the teams the Sabres are trying to chase down.
Since that loss, the Canadiens played an even worse game in Ottawa, but managed to get an important win to end a busy stretch of their season. After their first two-day break in two weeks, they looked rested versus the Minnesota Wild, controlling the play for the majority of the game, moving the puck much better, and getting rewarded with a late regulation win. They enter tonight’s game in a much better physical condition than the last game they played versus Buffalo.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Sabres |
|---|---|---|
| 28-15-7 | Record | 27-17-5 |
| 49.4% (20th) | Expected-goal share | 49.5% (18th) |
| 3.40 (3rd) | Goals per game | 3.27 (10th) |
| 3.26 (23rd) | Goals against per game | 3.12 (22nd) |
| 23.4% (9th) | PP% | 19.3% (20th) |
| 77.4% (26th) | PK% | 82.8% (7th) |
| 1-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-1-0 |
| Cole Caufield (25) | Most goals | Tage Thompson (26) |
| Lane Hutson (43) | Most assists | Rasmus Dahlin (29) |
| Nick Suzuki (55) | Most points | Tage Thompson (51) |
The Sabres’ schedule hasn’t let up since that game. They were dealt an overtime loss by the Wild two days after playing the Habs, then scored just one goal in a loss to Carolina. That was the first time they’ve lost consecutive games since early December, and perhaps a sign that their workload is catching up with them. They were able to beat the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, but Nashville led the high-danger scoring chances 11-4. Tonight will be the Sabres’ 10th game in 17 days, so the Habs will hold the energy advantage.
Maybe the best indication that Buffalo is running out of steam is that Thompson and Alex Tuch, who combined for four goals a week ago, have just one apiece in the three games since. Thompson played a season-low 13:33 on Tuesday, perhaps an attempt by Lindy Ruff to keep his top players as rested as possible for this more important game this evening.
One area the Canadiens will need to be better is the penalty kill. It was doing well leading up to the last game versus Buffalo, climbing to 16th in the league at just under 80% on the season. They have allowed two power-play goals in each of the last three contests, however, and it’s plummeted down to 26th. Montreal has been lucky to get two wins while allowing so many goals against while down a player. The power play has been able to counter recently, but the Habs need to get back to the form they had been showing on the penalty kill to get through not just this game, but the sequence of tough matches coming up.
