{"id":421649,"date":"2026-01-22T13:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/421649\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T13:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:05:18","slug":"nhl-predictions-jan-22-buffalo-sabres-vs-montreal-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/421649\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Jan 22 Buffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. Our featured game of this edition is the Buffalo Sabres taking on the Montreal Canadiens. Don\u2019t forget to check out more <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/nhl-predictions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NHL Predictions<\/a>, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<p>NHL Predictions<br \/>\nBuffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens<br \/>\nHead-to-Head: Sabres 1-1 Canadiens<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/full-guide-for-how-to-stream-and-watch-nhl-hockey-games\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How to Watch<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>US TV:\u00a0MSG Buffalo; ESPN+<\/p>\n<p>Canada TV: TSN2; RDS<\/p>\n<p>Time: 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thescore.com\/nhl\/events\/31912\" target=\"_blank\">We open up<\/a> NHL predictions with our featured game between the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/17\/nhl-predictions-jan-17-minnesota-wild-vs-buffalo-sabres\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buffalo Sabres<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/20\/montreal-canadiens-forward-lower-body-injury\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a>. Buffalo is expected to give <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lyonal01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-21_hr\">Alex Lyon<\/a> the start in goal. However, always check social media before locking in a daily fantasy starter. The Sabres are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games entering this matchup. Buffalo is in the mix for one of the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompta01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-21_hr\">Tage Thompson<\/a> leads the team in goals (26), assists (25), and points (51) so far this campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Montembeault is the projected starter for the Canadiens, who are also 6-3-1 in their previous 10 games. However, Montreal has won its last two games entering this divisional game. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/suzukni01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-21_hr\">Nick Suzuki<\/a> leads the Habs in assists (40) and points (55) so far this season. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/caufico01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-21_hr\">Cole Caufield<\/a> is using his Team USA Olympic snub as fuel with 25 goals.<\/p>\n<p>Both teams are playing well entering this matchup. However, the home team has won both games so far this season.<\/p>\n<p>Prediction: Canadiens win 4-3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at\u00a0Last Word on Hockey look at the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[39271,39246,265,1316,5,264,21,1776,5147,4,1319,5560],"class_list":["post-421649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal-canadiens","tag-boston-bruins-predictions","tag-buffalo-sabres-predictions","tag-canadiens","tag-florida-panthers-predictions","tag-hockey","tag-montreal","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-montreal-canadiens-predictions","tag-montrealcanadiens","tag-nhl","tag-vegas-golden-knights-predictions","tag-winnipeg-jets-predictions"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115938900200353529","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}