Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - If the Buffalo Sabres want to beat the Montreal Canadiens for the first time this season on Saturday night, they’re going to have to be much better defensively against them.
Back on Nov. 11 in Buffalo, Montreal skated home with a 7-5 win. Then on Dec. 17 in Montreal, the Canadiens prevailed, 6-1.
Canadiens Patrik Laine had three power play one-timer goals in the game in Montreal on fellow Finn, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki had six points in the two games against Buffalo, while winger Juraj Slafkovsky had five.
Luukkonen played in both games for Buffalo, and left with a 7.52 goals-against average and an ugly .744 save percentage. Luukkonen allowed 10 goals, while Devon Levi had two scored on him in one period.
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Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says there are ways to cut down on the Montreal scoring chances.
"It’s penalties. They are the top team in drawing penalties, so keep your stick off them, stay out of the box, and then they’re a really good transition team," said Ruff following the morning skate on Saturday. "The way we manage the puck is going to be important, because they’ve got some speed up front, they’ve got a couple of defensemen that are really good at helping out on the attack. So make sure their rush game doesn’t get into full swing."
Montreal had 12 power play opportunities against the Sabres in those two games and scored five times. Overall the Habs are 17th in the NHL on the power play
Dylan Cozens had two goals and three points in those games.
Jason Zucker is going to miss another game after blocking a shot a week ago against the New York Rangers. Ruff said the progress is slow and said his absence has nothing to do with the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.
Buffalo has been much better lately at responding after bad games. The Sabres had a really bad performance Thursday in Carolina and Bo Byram said,
“You’re never going to be able to play every single game the exact way you want to or it’s not going to go the way you want to every single time, so with that being said, I don’t think our battle or determination wasn’t quite there, so it’s definitely something that we need to get on top of right away and bounce back.
“I think the first few shifts are going to be important and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The Sabres are looking for their seventh straight win at home and 10th out of 12. They are 15-11-3 while playing in Western New York.
They're 6-2-0 in their last eight games.
Alex Tuch has goals in four out of five games scoring five goals and five assists for 10 points and nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in his last 17 games.
In his last 11 games JJ Peterka has seven goals and five assists for 12 points.
Montreal has won three straight games after losing 8-of-9. The Canadiens are just one point out of the two Eastern Conference Wild Card positions held by the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers.
Jakub Dobes will be in goal. He’s 5-2-1 with a 2.71 goals against and .908 save percentage. The 23-year-old was Montreal’s fifth round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Czechia native played two seasons at Ohio State.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Byram and Jordan Greenway.