Brendan Gallagher and Shea Weber were not at practice on Friday, taking a therapy day instead. Weber had accompanied the team on their recent road trip, but missed both the Dallas and Nashville games with a lower-body injury. While Gallagher skated on a line with Tomas Plekanec and Charles Hudon at Saturday's morning skate, head coach Claude Julien confirmed after the skate that Weber would not be in the lineup against Buffalo.
The Sabres, meanwhile, closed out a four-game homestand with a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night before traveling to Montreal. They had lost the previous three games of the stretch against the Hurricanes, Blue Jackets and Wild. Their previous win came back on November 7 against Washington.
Head coach Phil Housley has not announced his starter against Montreal, although Robin Lehner was between the pipes to play the Oilers on Friday.
Saturday's game marks another edition of FANatic Saturdays at the Bell Centre. This week, the Canadiens will join the NHL in recognizing Hockey Fights Cancer month with a variety of initiatives surrounding the game. The Habs will be wearing special-edition lavender jerseys during warmups, which will subsequently be auctioned off to raise money for Leucan.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised on Sportsnet and TVA Sports, and will be on the radio on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.
