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| Game Preview by Sam Gerber | |
| Last game : MTL 2 NJD 5
The Habs had a very bad game in their own zone. The Devils took advantage and didn’t look back. New Jersey had a four goal lead after two periods and dialed their effort back in the third allowing the Habs to score one goal. The defense was a big part of the loss and made it even more evident the Habs need to make a move to get top pairing defenseman to play with Shea Weber. Max Domi continued his point streak but still struggles in his own zone as does his linemate Jonathan Drouin. Montreal has a balanced offence at even strength but need to improve the power-play. For a complete game recap: Atrocious Night in the Habs Zone
Keys to Victory
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| Matchup by All Habs staff | ||
| KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY | November 23, 4:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, MSG-B | ||
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2018-19 statistics |
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| SABRES | CANADIENS | |
| 30 (4th) | Points (rank) | 26 (12th) |
| 14-6-2 | Record | 11-7-4 |
| 7-2-1 | Home/Away | 5-4-2 |
| 8-2-0 | Last 10 | 4-4-2 |
| 3.09 | GF/G | 3.18 |
| 2.82 | GA/G | 3.41 |
| 18.1 | PP% | 13.8 |
| 82.5 | PK% | 78.9 |
| 49.28 | CF% | 52.05 |
| Scouting the opposition | ||
After years of futility, the Sabres have crawled out of the Eastern Conference basement. Tied for second in the Conference, Buffalo is a -135 home favorite against Montreal on Friday and they would be bigger chalk if the the name “Sabres” wasn’t attached to so much recent losing. Buffalo is a stellar 7-2-1 at home on the season, 2-0 against Montreal, and riding a seven-game win streak says Sascha Paruk from SportsBettingDime. Their record isn’t smoke and mirrors, either. With a plus-8 goal difference and above-average Fenwick (50.08%), the analytics don’t predict much of a regression, it will be a very close match, so here you can get up to date info for today’s game in case you feel like trying your luck and place some money in! |
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| Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders | ||
| Forwards | ||
| Skinner – Eichel – Pominville Thompson – Sobotka – Reinhart Sheary – Mittelstadt – Okposo Girgensons – Larsson – Rodrigues |
Tatar – Danault – Gallagher Drouin – Domi – Shaw Peca – Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen Deslauriers – Chaput – Agostino |
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| Defensemen | ||
| McCabe – Ristolainen Dahlin – Bogosian Beaulieu – Nelson |
Benn – Petry Schlemko – Kulak Alzner – Mete |
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| Out of the lineup | ||
| Scratched: Elie, Pilut Injured: Wilson, Hunwick, Scandella, Berglund |
Scratched: Reilly, Ouellet, Hudon Injured: Weber, Armia, Byron, Scherbak, Juulsen |
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| Goalies | ||
| Carter Hutton | Antti Niemi | |
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| Record: 10-6-1 GAA: – 2.57 Sv%: – .917 SO: 0 Alternate: Linus Ullmark |
Record: 4-2-0 GAA: – 3.74 Sv%: – .887 SO: 0 Alternate: Carey Price |
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| What to Expect by Sam Gerber |
| The Sabres are on a seven-game winning streak and have beat the Habs both times they have played this season. This game is really big for the Canadiens as Buffalo is a divisional opponent where points matter. A regulation win would move Montreal within striking distance of the Sabres. It’s hard to imagine that the season is already a quarter of the way in and games could already impact the playoffs. Yesterday was American Thanksgiving and the Habs are currently in a playoff spot with a 78 per cent chance of making the playoffs. Shea Weber should be back soon and will provide a boost the to power-play and penalty-kill. In addition, that will allow Jeff Petry to play in a role more suited for him. |
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