Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Game 8: Lines, Notes & What to Watch vs. Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens (3-4-0) will be visiting the impressive Buffalo Sabres (4-2-0) Thursday night at the KeyBank Center. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM EST.
The Canadiens’ lineup will be similar to previous outings, with Juraj Slafkovsky missing a third consecutive game due to an upper-body injury. The club will be looking to get back to their winning ways, having lost their last two games at home before undertaking this upcoming four-game road trip.
Cole Caufield will look to continue his hot scoring streak as of late, leading the NHL in goals scored at even strength with five in just seven games.
Mike Hoffman finds himself on the top line with Caufield and Nick Suzuki, a decision that could be a little confusing to many fans who would rather see Hoffman sit than jump from fourth-line to first-line duties.
Sean Monahan is set to line up next to Kirby Dach again, a duo that had clicked really well to start the season. Head coach Martin St. Louis is likely looking to protect Dach on the road against unfavourable faceoff matchups.
Meanwhile, young defencemen Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris will look to continue gaining in ice time, as they continue to outplay the veterans on the roster and gain the confidence of St. Louis.
Samuel Montembeault will be given his third start of the season for the Canadiens. He has a 1-1 record, with a .912 save percentage and a 2.48 goals against average.
The Buffalo Sabres have been quite the story so far this season, with defenceman Rasmus Dahlin leading the charge. The 22-year-old defenceman broke the record for the number of consecutive games with a goal to start the season for a defenceman with five; all while adding four assists in just six games this season.
Other than Dahlin’s historic start, Alex Tuch has picked up exactly where he left off last season and improved on it. So far this season, Tuch has six goals, and one assist, through Buffalo’s first six games and has been a force at both ends of the ice. Playing a power forward type of game, Tuch will look to take advantage of Montreal’s lack fo experience on defence and continue his scoring ways.
Injuries
Canadiens
- Juraj Slafkovsky (upper-body injury, day-to-day)
- Joel Armia (upper-body injury, IR)
- Joel Edmundson (lower-body injury, IR)
- Mike Matheson (abdominal muscle strain, 6-8 weeks)
Sabres
- Riley Sheahan (undisclosed)
- Henri Jokiharju (face, IR)
- Mattias Samuelsson (lower-body, IR)
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
Brendan Gallagher | Alex Newhook | Joel Armia |
Jesse Ylonen | Jake Evans | Josh Anderson |
Michael Pezzetta | Christian Dvorak | Rafael Harvey-Pinard |
LD | RD |
---|---|
Mike Matheson | Justin Barron |
Lane Hutson | David Savard |
Jordan Harris | Logan Mailloux |
Goalie |
---|
Samuel Montembeault |
Cayden Primeau |
Buffalo Sabres Lines, per Puckpedia.com:
Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Asplund-Mittelstadt-Olofsson
Hinostroza-Cozens-Peterka
Quinn-Girgensons-Okposo
Defence:
Dahlin-Lyubushkin
Power-Bryson
Pilut-Fitzgerald
Goalies:
Comrie
Anderson
Special Teams
[table “18” not found /]Montreal Canadiens Game Notes:
- The Canadiens begin a four-game road trip tonight, starting with the Sabres
- Nick Suzuki leads all Canadiens players in scoring with 3 goals and 4 assists in 7 games.
- Cole Caufield leads the team with 5 goals in 7 games.
- Slafkovsky, Edmundson and Armia are traveling with the team, but aren’T yet cleared to play tonight.