Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Game 55: Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Sabres region: MSG Buffalo
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+

The Detroit Red Wings had a rare bad game this afternoon, losing 5-0 to a Colorado Avalanche squad that clearly got tired of losing after its 7-3 defeat in Montreal. That means one of the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres will pull within one point of the Red Wings after facing each other tonight.

We should see the Canadiens hit the ice fully engaged from the opening puck drop given how the most recent game went between the clubs. Montreal just saw what a great beginning to a contest can do, enjoying one of their most comfortable wins of the season versus the league’s top team on Thursday. You can also expect the Sabres to match whatever intensity the Canadiens bring to KeyBank Center, because they enter the game on five-game winning streak, and have lost just four times since December 8.

It could very well be a playoff atmosphere in Buffalo two-thirds of the way through the season. The Sabres are well on their way to ending a 14-year post-season drought, while the Canadiens days of missing the playoffs may be done for at least the next decade. It’s entirely possible that this will be a first-round matchup between the second and third seeds in the Atlantic Division, and this is the final chance to make a statement before that would happen.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing

#13 Cole Caufield
#14 Nick Suzuki
#77 Kirby Dach

#20 Juraj Slafkovský
#91 Oliver Kapanen
#93 Ivan Demidov

#90 Joe Veleno
#71 Jake Evans
#76 Zachary Bolduc

#17 Josh Anderson
#24 Phillip Danault
#11 Brendan Gallagher

Left Defence
Right Defence

#8 Mike Matheson
#21 Kaiden Guhle

#48 Lane Hutson
#53 Noah Dobson

#72 Arber Xhekaj
#45 Alexandre Carrier

Starter
Backup

#75 Jakub Dobeš
#35 Samuel Montembeault

Scratched: Sammy Blais, Jayden Struble
Injured: Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Alexandre Texier

Buffalo Sabres projected lineup

Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing

Zach Benson
Tage Thompson
Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker
Ryan McLeod
Jack Quinn

Josh Doan
Noah Ostlund
Konsta Helenius

Tyson Kozak
Peyton Krebs
Beck Malenstyn

Left Defence
Right Defence

Mattias Samuelsson
Rasmus Dahlin

Bowen Byram
Owen Power

Zach Metsa
Michael Kesselring

Starter
Backup

Alex Lyon
Colten Ellis