Buffalo Sabres (14-24-8, seventh in the Atlantic) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8-32-7, eighth in the Atlantic)
Montreal; Sunday, 12:30 p.m. EST
LINE: Canadiens -107, Sabres -112; over/under is 6
BOTTOM LINE: Montreal aims to end its nine-game slide with a victory over Buffalo.
The Canadiens are 2-7-2 against the rest of their division. Montreal serves 10.8 penalty minutes per game, the most in the Eastern Conference. Michael Pezzetta leads the team serving 68 total minutes.
The Sabres are 4-7-4 against opponents in the Atlantic. Buffalo has scored 24 power-play goals, converting on 19.2% of chances.
Buffalo beat Montreal 4-1 in the last meeting between these teams on Nov. 26. Tage Thompson scored two goals for the Sabres in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nicholas Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 28 points, scoring nine goals and collecting 19 assists. Tyler Toffoli has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
Mark Jankowski leads the Sabres with a plus-five in 16 games this season. Thompson has seven assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 1-7-2, averaging 2.5 goals, 4.2 assists, 4.9 penalties and 14.1 penalty minutes while giving up 4.8 goals per game with an .870 save percentage.
Sabres: 3-5-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 4.6 penalties and 11.6 penalty minutes while allowing 3.4 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.
INJURIES: Canadiens: Rafael Harvey-Pinard: out (health protocols), Louie Belpedio: out (covid-19), Gianni Fairbrother: out (covid-19), David Savard: out (ankle).
Sabres: Casey Mittelstadt: out (upper body), Zemgus Girgensons: out (undisclosed), Jack Quinn: out (lower body).
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