Canadiens @ Sabres: Game thread and lines
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Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Start time: **12:30 PM EST / 9:30 AM PST**In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)In the Sabres region: MSG BuffaloStreaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
With the top duo of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield unable to gain much traction at even strength so far this year, Martin St-Louis has made the decision to split them up for the 16th game of the season. Juraj Slafkovský returns to Suzuki’s wing, while Cole Caufield drops down to play with Jake Evans. The hope is that Evans can make up for Caufield’s lack of defensive prowess with his own to help limit the time spent in their own zone, and hopefully get the double-digit scorer some time on offence.
They will face another of the league’s 10-goal-scorers this afternoon in Tage Thompson. The Sabres’ star centreman is rediscovering the form that eluded him last year, and that’s helping the team recover from a poor start. Even with a barely functional power play, Buffalo has six players with at least 10 points through 15 games. Offence from the back end is a feature of their play, with Rasmus Dahlin (10 points), Owen Power (10), and Bowen Byram (9) being big contributors to their current success.
Samuel Montembeault has been unable to put an end to the Canadiens’ losing streak, so Cayden Primeau gets the call for the matinée. Buffalo counters with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has a .910 save percentage this season, providing the level of goaltending the team had missed since Ryan Miller’s departure a decade ago.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup Left Wing Centre Right Wing #20 Juraj Slafkovský #14 Nick Suzuki #77 Kirby Dach #35 Alex Newhook #71 Jake Evans #13 Cole Caufield #11 Brendan Gallagher #28 Christian Dvorak #17 Josh Anderson #51 Emil Heineman #82 Lucas Condotta #40 Joel Armia Left Defence Right Defence #8 Mike Matheson #21 Kaiden Guhle #48 Lane Hutson #58 David Savard #72 Arber Xhekaj #47 Jayden Struble Starter Backup #30 Cayden Primeau #35 Samuel MontembeaultScratched: Justin Barron, Michael PezzettaInjured: Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Patrik Laine
Buffalo Sabres projected lineup Left Wing Centre Right Wing J.J. Peterka Tage Thoimpson Alex Tuch Zach Benson Dylan Cozens Jack Quinn Jordan Greenway Ryan McLeod Jason Zucker Beck Malenstyn Peyton Krebs Sam Lafferty Left Defence Right Defence Rasmus Dahlin Bowen Byram Owen Power Jacob Bryson Dennis Gilbert Connor Clifton Starter Backup Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Devon Levi
