MTL@BUF: What you need to know

BUFFALO - The Canadiens will attempt to get back in the wins column as they take on the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center on Friday.

SHOP: Canadiens Junior Ribbed Roller Crew
In their previous outing, the Habs were defeated 6-3 by the Capitals in Washington on Wednesday. Montreal trailed 3-0 in the first period before Jake Evans got the visitors on the board. Cole Caufield netted his first of the season in the second period, and Artturi Lehkonen added a late third-period marker to round out the scoring for the Canadiens.

Jake Allen made 28 saves in his first game back since suffering a concussion on November 13 in Detroit.
Lehkonen has been productive of late, producing at a point-per-game clip over his last eight games. He and Evans both enjoyed two-point nights in the American capital, while Brendan Gallagher picked up his third point in four games with a helper on Lehkonen's marker.

Joel Edmundson, who skated on a defensive pairing with Jeff Petry on Thursday, has shown some encouraging signs in his recovery from injury but won't make a return to play this weekend.
Shortly before Friday's optional morning skate, Dominique Ducharme indicated he'd be going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Buffalo. Young rearguard Mattias Norlinder will play his third career NHL game, while centerman Cedric Paquette will be scratched. Sam Montembeault gets the nod in goal, and Allen will start on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
We'll have to wait for news out of morning skate to see if Edmundson is ready to make his season debut, and also to find out who Dominique Ducharme will be sending to the crease in Upstate New York.
The Sabres, meanwhile, have come back down to earth after taking the League by storm with a hot start to the season. Buffalo has just two regulation wins in its last 13 games, and is currently mired in a four-game losing streak.
On Wednesday, the Sabres dropped a 5-1 decision to the visiting Bruins, with Kyle Okposo opening the scoring before Buffalo allowed five unanswered Boston goals. In net, Aaron Dell was replaced by Dustin Tokarski to start the second period after giving up four goals in the opening frame. The former Habs netminder stopped 24 of 25 shots in the relief effort.
Five-year veteran Tage Thompson leads the charge for Buffalo this season in both goals (8) and points (13). Rasmus Asplund (5G, 7A) and Rasmus Dahlin (3G, 9A) are tied for second on the team with 12 points apiece.
Goaltender Craig Anderson and forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Tuch are all sidelined with upper-body injuries.
This is the second of four meetings between the divisional rivals, with the Sabres taking the first contest 5-1 on October 14. Buffalo currently sits in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with 16 points, four ahead of the Habs and with two games in hand. After tonight's contest, the season series will resume in Montreal on January 8 before wrapping up with the Habs' second-last game of the season on April 26.
Broadcast information
Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
You can watch the game on TSN2, MSG-B and RDS, and listen to all the action on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.