The Habs Take On The Scorching Hot Sabres Tonight
The Montreal Canadiens (26-14-7) will be in Buffalo to take on a red-hot Sabres team (25-16-4) that has won 13 of their last 15 games. They most recently beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Wednesday night and will be playing the Habs on the 2nd half of a back-to-back tonight. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals after blowing a 2-0 lead in the 3rd period on Tuesday. They will be hoping to find a way to bounce back from that performance as they play their 3rd game in 4 days.
Full team rosters and stats ahead of tonight’s game between the Canadiens and Sabres in Buffalo (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS) #Habs: pic.twitter.com/4SJwFlIaUx
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) January 15, 2026
A huge reason for the loss against the Capitals was because of travel fatigue and playing the 2nd half of a back-to-back. Now that the Canadiens have had a day to rest from their crazy back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, they should look a lot better than they did against the Capitals.
Still, that doesn’t mean it will be any easier for the Canadiens, as they are playing a team that has turned their whole season around in the last 15 games, and the Sabres will be riding serious momentum into tonight. Can the Habs overcome the Sabres’ momentum and get a win on the road?
Fowler sera le gardien partant face aux Sabres. Guhle fera un retour dans la formation, tandis que Struble sera laissé de côté
Fowler starts against the Sabres. Guhle returns to the lineup, while Struble will skip his turn pic.twitter.com/jD3FVTaqvZ
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 15, 2026
The Canadiens announced that Jacob Fowler will be back in nets tonight for the first time since he had a tough night against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Since being called up from the AHL in early December, Fowler has shown to bounce back fairly well from his tough moments that have occurred throughout his young NHL career. Tonight will be a big test for Fowler, as we will see how he can handle a team that is scorching hot and looking like they will continue to take the league by storm. It’s clear that the Sabres that Fowler will face in tonight’s game are far from the team the Habs faced in October at the beginning of the season.
The Habs will also re-insert Kaiden Guhle into the lineup after he was left out of Tuesday’s game due to load management following coming back from surgery last Saturday. It will be Jayden Struble that will be sitting out for Guhle against the Sabres. With that being said, it’s safe to say that Arber Xhekaj has officially passed Struble on the depth chart at the team’s 6th defenseman.
The starting goaltender for the Sabres is expected to be Colten Ellis, after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played against the Flyers on Wednesday night. Ellis has played 9 games for the Sabres this season, where he had posted a .900 save percentage with a 3.11 GAA and a 5-4 record, performing around league average in every category. While the Habs are lucky that they won’t have to play the Sabres’ #1 goaltender, Ellis has been playing solid hockey as of late too, where his numbers have slightly improved to a 2.76 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Not to mention the play of the team as a whole seems to be rubbing off on all their players.
It will clearly be a tough game for the Habs even if they are playing a team that is on the 2nd half of a back-to-back; plus, despite the fact that both matchups are on home ice and don’t require travel, the Sabres will not be nearly as tired as the Habs were on Tuesday.
The Sabres have scored 5 goals in 4 of their last 5 matchups, while the Habs have averaged 3.66 goals in their last games. With that being said, the Over 6.5 Goals Total seems like a great bet based on recent trends with the Sabres and the Canadiens. Despite the Sabres still being red-hot, the Habs are listed as -120 road favourites. Yes, the Canadiens have won 5 straight and 8 of the last 10 meetings against the Sabres, but this team they are facing is much different over their last 15 games than the last time the Habs played them. It will be interesting to see if the Sabres’ hot streak keeps going or if the Habs continue their dominance against their divisional rival.
Nick Suzuki has registered 2+ points in 4 of his last 5 matchups against the Sabres. He will be looking to be a Sabres killer again tonight. Expect a big game from the Habs captain, as he has a history of showing up vs. the Sabres even when he is in a bit of a slump. The line for Suzuki to put up 2+ points tonight is set at +200. Will you bet on Suzuki tonight?
What are your predictions for tonight’s Canadiens vs. Sabres game?
