OTP - Sabres Suffering From Defensive Gaffes And Lack Of Discipline 12/17/24 – 7:00 pm EST at Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec Record Buffalo – 11-16-4 | 26 points – 7th place in the Atlantic Division Montreal – 11-6-3 | 25 points – 8th place in the Atlantic Division Special Teams Buffalo Power Play – 14.6% (30th) Penalty Kill – 79.0% (18th) Montreal Power Play – 20.2% (18th) Penalty Kill – 80.2% (15th) Top Scorers Buffalo Tage Thompson: 26 GP, 16 G, 9 A, 25 PTS Alex Tuch: 31 GP, 9 G, 16 A, 25 PTS Jason Zucker: 31 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 PTS Montreal Nick Suzuki: 30 GP, 11 G, 19 A, 30 PTS Cole Caufield: 30 GP, 17 G, 10 A, 27 PTS Lane Hutson: 30 GP, 1 G, 19 A, 20 PTS Starting Goalies Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (8-9-3, 2.80 GAA, .903 save %) Montreal – Samuel Montembeault (9-13-2, 3.01 GAA, .900 save %) Line Combinations and Pairings (projected) Buffalo Forwards Zach Benson– Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch JJ Peterka - Dylan Cozens - Jack Quinn Jiri Kulich - Ryan McLeod - Jason Zucker Beck Malenstyn - Peyton Krebs - Nicolas Aube-Kubel Defense Bowen Byram - Henri Jokiharju Mattias Samuelsson - Owen Power Jacob Bryson - Dennis Gilbert Ex. Ryan Johnson - Connor Clifton Goaltenders Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen James Reimer Injuries Rasmus Dahlin (day-to-day – back spasms) Jordan Greenway (day-to-day – mid-body) Sam Lafferty (IR – lower body) Notes Buffalo’s 136 victories over Montreal all-time are the most against any single team in franchise history. The Sabres have earned at least one point in three of their last four games against the Canadiens (2-1-1). Buffalo has earned a win in four of its last five road contests against Montreal (4-1-0). Tage Thompson has tallied seven points (5+2) in his last seven games, including one point in each of his last four games. A point in tonight’s game would give Thompson his second point streak of five or more games this season (Oct. 12 to Nov. 1; eight games; 6+6) and the 10th of his career. Thompson has recorded 10 points (4+6) in his last six games against Montreal, including at least one point in each of his last four against the Canadiens. A point in tonight’s game would make Thompson the first Sabres skater since Jack Eichel from Nov. 8, 2018 to Jan. 30, 2020 (five games; 4+7) to record a point streak of five or more games against Montreal. Bowen Byram has recorded one assist in three consecutive games. Byram would earn the longest assist streak of his career with an assist in tonight’s game. Jason Zucker has registered seven points (3+4) in his last seven games. In his last three games, JJ Peterka has notched three assists. In his last nine games against Montreal, Alex Tuch has recorded 13 points (2+11). Tuch has posted at least one point in three consecutive games against the Canadiens (1+4). Dylan Cozens has posted at least one point in back-to-back games against the Canadiens (1+2). Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo [https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo]
