The Montreal Canadiens will attempt to stimy the Buffalo Sabres offense which has been very productive in recent trips to the Bell Centre.
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens (22-25-8) vs Buffalo Sabres (24-27-4)
Game Preview
Roster News
Jordan Harris and Jesse Ylonen are expected to return to the lineup.
Cole Caufield missed practice on Tuesday, his third straight, but will be in his regular place on the Canadiens top line.
Sam Montembeault (12-9-4 / 3.21 GAA / .903 SV%) is the confirmed starter for Montreal.
Last Game
Jake Allen was solid and the Canadiens received goals from down the lineup but fell behind with eight minutes to go in the game.
Last game: MTL 3 vs WSH 4 | F
Players to Watch
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Matchup for Game 56, Home Game 30
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC. | February 21, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, MSG, ESPN
Pre-Game
Martin St. Louis
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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrtWJFbB38w[/embed]
Projected Canadiens Lineup (subject to change)
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
89 Joshua Roy - 15 Alex Newhook - 17 Josh Anderson
40 Joel Armia - 71 Jake Evans - 11 Brendan Gallagher
70 Tanner Pearson - 74 Brandon Gignac - 56 Jesse Ylonen
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle
47 Jayden Struble - 54 Jordan Harris
72 Arber Xhekaj - 58 David Savard
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault (12-9-4 / 3.21 GAA / .903 SV%)
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Cayden Primeau, Johnathan Kovacevic, Michael Pezzetta
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body)
Visiting Bench
This is the final meeting this season between the Sabres and Canadiens. Buffalo beat Montreal 6-1 on January 4th at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens have a 2-1-0 record against the Sabres this season.
Buffalo has scored four or more goals in five of their last six contests at the Bell Centre.
As a Sabre, Jeff Skinner has registered 29 points in 16 games versus the Canadiens.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (14-14-2 / 2.54 GAA / .910 SV%) is the likely starter for the Sabres.
Game Expectations
The Canadiens and Sabres each have earned 52 points after playing 55 games. The biggest disparity is in goal differential with Buffalo at minus-9 and Montreal at minus-41.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
