Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Buffalo Sabres (20-43-8, 48 points) and Montreal Canadiens (40-26-7, 87 points) take the ice at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the fourth and final meeting against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. Buffalo fans can hear all of the action on WGR 550 while Montreal fans can do the same on TSN 690.
Buffalo has lost eight of its last nine games while Montreal has won five of its last six contests and is looking to score its third straight victory. The Canadiens go for the season sweep after defeating the Sabres in all three prior meetings, including a 2-0 triumph on March 16 in their most recent meeting in Buffalo.
The Canadiens look to slide into second place in the Atlantic Division with a win to jump ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and potentially host a best-of-seven series with them if the Stanley Cup finals were to start. The Habs are coming off of a 2-1 shootout win over the Boston Bruins that halted their winning streak at 12.
"We played for two points tonight, and I believe our guys did a fantastic job killing penalties. We gave them four power plays in the third period and only allowed six shots on net," coach Michel Therrien said via NHL.com. "The guys on the penalty killing did a great job, especially after we lost two forwards early in the game. We only had 10 forwards available in the game, against the hottest team in the league."
The Sabres will turn to Matt Hackett in net and he will be making just his second start with the team after Nathan Lieuwen played his first NHL game between the pipes in a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
"For me, it's a dream come true to play here. I've got tons of family here," said Lieuwen per NHL.com. "I was very nervous the first half of the game. After that I felt like I settled in and felt nice and comfortable."
Hackett, who played 13 games with the Minnesota Wild over the past two seasons, owns a career record of 4-7-0 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. He'll be opposed by Carey Price, who is 29-18-5 with a 2.40 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
Former Sabre Thomas Vanek (25-33-58), P.K. Subban (10-40-50) and Max Pacioretty (31-18-49) lead Montreal in points while Tyler Ennis (19-19-38), Matt Moulson (17-21-38) and Cody Hodgson (16-20-36) pace Buffalo.
The Sabres and Canadiens faceoff for the final time this season when the puck is dropped at the Bell Centre tonight in Montreal.
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