Canadiens Pre Game

Canadiens Game 74: Allen To Start, Farrell Not At Practice

Published

1 year ago

March 27, 2023

The Montreal Canadiens (29-38-6) begin the first leg of a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres (35-31-6) on Monday night at the KeyBank Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

After a dominating victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Canadiens will look to keep that momentum alive against a young and exciting Sabres team that’s fighting for their playoff lives.

Catching Fire

The Montreal Canadiens have gone back to their high-scoring ways over the last couple of weeks; making for some exciting hockey for fans down the stretch.

Leading the charge has been captain Nick Suzuki, who’s put up 10 points in his last five games and ties his career-high in points with 61 in the process.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has also caught fire since begin put back on the top line, scoring four goals in his last five games and playing upwards of 18 minutes a game.

Meanwhile, on defence, Mike Matheson continues to be the unquestioned leader on the back end for the Canadiens.

The 29-year-old defenceman has registered three goals and five assists for eight points in his last seven games, giving him eight goals and 20 assists for an impressive 28 points in just 39 games this season.

The Canadiens were also joined in Buffalo by newcomer Sean Farrell.

The 21-year-old signed his entry-level contract on Sunday and is set to join the Canadiens for the final stretch of their season.

The youngster did not participate in practice and isn’t expected to play for the Canadiens in Buffalo, but there is hope that he could suit up for his first NHL game on Tuesday against the Flyers.

Nouveau gars, nouveau numéro ⚠️

New number alert#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/JJuiBeyHCe

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 27, 2023

Raging Buffalo

The Buffalo Sabres really came out and impressed the NHL this season, after another very difficult start to the season.

Led by youngsters Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens, the Sabres surged up the standings during the mid-point of the season and looked to be playoff-bound for the first time in a decade.

However, injuries and inconsistent goaltending cost them down the stretch and they are now desperately trying to hop over the Florida Panthers in the standings in order to get close to one of the final Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Offence has been hard to come by for the Sabres as of late, and it might get a little harder tonight, as Thompson is nursing an upper-body injury. He’s officially set to be a game-time decision.

Alex Tuch has been the most productive Sabre during the last five games, putting up two goals and two assists for four points during that stretch.

If the Sabres are going to have any luck against the Canadiens, they’ll need Habs killer Jeff Skinner to continue his scoring ways against Montreal tonight.

The Sabres will dress Eric Comrie for tonight’s game. Coming off a shutout against the New York Islanders, the 27-year-old will look to keep his club in the playoff race against the Canadiens.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

Kaiden Guhle (Injured Reserve)
Joel Armia (Day-To-Day)
Christian Dvorak (Injured Reserve)
Josh Anderson (Injured Reserve)
Arber Xhekaj (Injured Reserve)
Juraj Slafkovsky (Injured Reserve)
Cole Caufield (Injured Reserve)
Sean Monahan (LTIR)
Carey Price (LTIR)
Paul Byron (LTIR)

Buffalo Sabres Injuries

Mattias Samuelsson (Injured)
Jordan Greenway (Injured)
Tage Thompson (Day-To-Day)

Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup

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