Sabres vs. Canadiens | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres will look to rebound from their loss in Carolina when they return home on Saturday to host the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center.

The Sabres emerged from the 4 Nations Face-Off break vocal about their goal to fight their way back into the playoff race. They set the objective to earn seven points in each five-game segment as a means to put them within earshot of 90 points late in the season.

Buffalo returned from the break with a pair of victories at home before falling 5-2 in Carolina on Thursday. That means their seven-point target remains attainable with even a 1-0-1 record in the final two contests of this segment: a home-and-home set with the Atlantic Division rival Canadiens.

After playing in Buffalo tonight, the Sabres and Canadiens will meet for the final time this season on Monday in Montreal. The Canadiens are also looking to make up ground in the playoff race, currently eight points ahead of the Sabres with two more games played.

The puck drops on Saturday at 7 p.m. Here’s what you need to know in the meantime.

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550

Click here for more ways to watch Sabres games.

Lineup notes (updated 6:45 p.m.)

Jason Zucker didn't participate in the morning skate after missing Thursday's game in Carolina. He previously played Tuesday versus Anaheim, but missed Monday's practice, after taking a shot to the foot a week ago versus New York.

"He’s just having trouble with his injury," said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. "He didn’t anticipate it, neither [did] we. But we’ll just take it day-to-day... There’s just something that continues to nag at [him], and (he) can’t get up and running."

Defensemen Connor Clifton and Jacob Bryson both draw back into the lineup for their first game since Feb. 8; they replace Henri Jokiharju and Sam Lafferty as the Sabres use 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Below are the lines from warmups:

Storylines

1. Last time out

The Sabres were unable to solve the Hurricanes’ patented pressure-filled attack early in the game on Thursday, falling behind 3-0 in the first period and never quite climbing back into what ended as a 5-2 loss.

Buffalo was outshot 37-15 by a Carolina team that leads the league in shot differential. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was replaced in net by James Reimer following two early goals against.

“We needed to at least match their energy and we weren’t able to do that from the start, and that was on us,” alternate captain Alex Tuch said.

2. Winning streak at home

The Sabres have won their last six games at KeyBank Center, marking their longest home winning streak since November 2018 (which came as part of a longer 10-game winning streak).

Buffalo has outscored opponents 29-14 during the home winning streak and benefitted from an 80-percent success rate on the penalty kill. Luukkonen has won five of those games in goal while posting a .906 save percentage.

Tage Thompson, despite missing one of the games with a concussion, leads the Sabres with six goals and 11 points during the home winning streak.

The Sabres last won seven straight home games from Oct. 22 to Nov. 24, 1999, a stretch fueled by nine points from forward Stu Barnes and six victories in net from Martin Biron.

3. Scouting the Canadiens

The Sabres are 0-2-0 so far this season against the Canadiens, who opened the season series with a back-and-forth 7-5 win at KeyBank Center on Nov. 11. In the rematch at Bell Centre on Dec. 17, Patrik Laine’s three power-play goals helped fuel the Canadiens to a 6-1 victory.

Montreal has since found itself in the crowded pack of Eastern Conference wild card contenders, currently five points out of a playoff spot after winning its last three games. Nick Suzuki has eight points (3+5) in those three victories and leads the team with 60 points this season (including six in the season series with the Sabres).

Jakub Dobes will start in goal on Saturday. The rookie made his NHL debut on Dec. 28 and is 5-2-1 with a .908 save percentage this season.

Game notes

• Jack Quinn (1+2) and JJ Peterka (2+1) both enter Saturday on three-game point streaks.
• Tuch has scored five goals in the last five games, bringing his season total to 21.
• Tuch also has 13 points (2+11) in his last 10 games against the Canadiens, including a pair of assists through two contests this season.