MTL@BUF: Five things you need to know

BUFFALO - Here are five things you need to know ahead of Wednesday night's matchup against the Sabres at the KeyBank Center.

1. The Canadiens begin a tough stretch of three games in four nights with a tilt in Western New York. Claude Julien's contingent will be looking to build on their tremendous come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs this past weekend that culminated in a shootout win at Scotiabank Arena. Max Domi, Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry and Phillip Danault all scored their first goals of the year, while Carey Price was outstanding in between the pipes. It was a big two points for Julien's squad heading into a week that will also include home games against Detroit on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday.

2. On Wednesday morning, Julien confirmed that goaltender Keith Kinkaid would get the start versus Buffalo. It will mark his Habs debut. Kinkaid boasts a 3-1-0 record in four career appearances against the Sabres, along with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. He'll go up against netminder Carter Hutton. In addition to switching things up in goal, Julien is also making changes on defense. Mike Reilly and Christian Folin will play in place of Cale Fleury and Brett Kulak.

3.Kinkaidwas one of 15 players who took part in the optional skate at the KeyBank Center. Captain Shea Weber was back on the ice after being given the day off to rest on Tuesday.

Wednesday night's contest will also mark the 700th game of forward Nate Thompson's NHL career.

4. For their part, the Sabres have picked up five out of a possible six points to begin the season, but Ralph Krueger's group came up just short in their most recent outing with a 4-3 overtime loss in Columbus. Buffalo was outshot 44-18 during the encounter, with goaltender Linus Ullmark making 40 saves. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin currently leads the Sabres in scoring with one goal and five points in three games. Buffalo's power play, meanwhile, has clicked on six of 10 opportunities to date.
5. Puck drop on Wednesday night is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. You can watch the game on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and listen to all the action on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.