Game Preview | Sabres begin homestand with match against Montreal tonight
This article will be updated with lineup news and other notes following the Buffalo Sabres’ morning skate.
The Buffalo Sabres return home for a four-game stint at KeyBank Center starting tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.
Faceoff is at 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 on MSG. Tickets are on sale now.
Following a road trip in which they won three of four games, Buffalo is 4-2-0 and tied for third place in the Atlantic Division. Montreal, at 3-4-0, is eighth, but just two points behind the Sabres.
Rasmus Dahlin leads the Sabres – and NHL defensemen – with nine points. His five goals are also tops among all blueliners. With six goals, Alex Tuch is one off the league lead. And after two starts, Craig Anderson leads the NHL with a .970 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average.
Montreal is coming off a 3-1 loss at home to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Captain Nick Suzuki has seven points (3+4) and Cole Caufield has five goals over seven games.
Here are some of the top Game Notes, courtesy of @SabresPR:
• This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Canadiens this season.
• Last meeting: Montreal defeated Buffalo 4-0 in Montreal on Feb. 23, 2022.
• Next meeting: Tuesday, Nov. 22 in Montreal
• The Sabres are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games against the Canadiens; 6-3-1 at home.
• This is the 290th game all-time between Buffalo and Montreal; Buffalo has a 133-115-41 series record.
• The Sabres are 77-41-27 at home against the Canadiens all-time.
• A win tonight would give the Sabres wins in six of their last seven meetings with the Canadiens.
• The last time Buffalo defeated Montreal at least six times in seven matchups between the two teams was from Dec. 26, 2001 to March 24, 2004, when the Sabres won seven straight games against Montreal.
• Buffalo has scored four or more goals in seven of their last 10 games against Montreal.
Video: Buffalo Sabres: Embedded | Day With Dahlin
• Rasmus Dahlin enters tonight’s game riding a season-opening six-game point streak (5+4), the longest ever season-opening point streak by a Sabres defenseman.
• With a point in tonight’s game, Dahlin would move into a tie with Pat LaFontaine and Gilbert Perreault for the fifth longest season-opening point streak in Sabres history.
• Since entering the league in 2018-19, Dahlin ranks second among NHL defensemen in power-play points against the Canadiens (6).
• Dahlin leads all Buffalo defensemen with nine game-winning goals since 2018-19.
• In that span, he also leads all Sabres skaters in games played (283), assists (133) and power-play points (73)
• He has been on the ice for 14 of the 23 goals the Sabres have scored this season (60.87 percent).
• Jeff Skinner has recorded 17 points (9+8) in 10 games played with the Sabres against Montreal in his career.
• He recorded six multi-point games and tallied nine points (4+5) in four matchups against the Canadiens in 2021-22.
• Buffalo has never lost a game against Montreal in which Skinner records a goal.
• Skinner has scored a total of seven goals in 12 career games against Montreal goaltenders Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault.
• He has recorded five goals in five career games against Montembeault.
• Since 2018-19, his first season with Buffalo, Skinner leads all 145 NHL skaters who have played at least 10 games against Montreal in 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes (2.81) against the Canadiens.
• The Sabres have won seven of their 10 games against Montreal with Jeff Skinner in the lineup.
• Craig Anderson has appeared in 34 games against Montreal in his career, tied for the most games against any single team in his career (Buffalo).
• Tage Thompson recorded four goals in four games against the Canadiens in 2021-22.
