Music: {allcanada} CANADIENS (8-4-1) at SABRES (3-9-1)

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

{allcanada} CANADIENS (8-4-1) at SABRES (3-9-1)

A Time to Kill - John Grisham / The Marshall Mathers LP2 - Eminem

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

7:30 PM ET

CANADIENS (8-4-1) at SABRES (3-9-1)

TV: SN, RDS, MSG-B

Season series: The Montreal Canadiens won all four games against the Buffalo Sabres last season, including two victories in March by a 2-0 score. Canadiens forward David Desharnais had a goal and three assists, and the Montreal power play went 3-for-12.

Canadiens team scope: Montreal has allowed the first goal in 11 of 13 games, including in a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at Bell Centre on Tuesday. The Canadiens are 6-4-1 in those games, and they have been outscored 14-4 during a three-game skid (0-2-1). "We need to take a step back," center Tomas Plekanec said Tuesday. "We have to stay positive as much as possible and we've got to fight through it. We've got to help ourselves, somehow." Montreal ranks 28th in the NHL on the power play at 8.1 percent (3-for-37) and 27th in goals per game at 2.15.

Sabres team scope: Buffalo could be without forward Marcus Foligno for a second straight game. He sat out practice Tuesday after being held out of the Sabres' 3-2 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday because of an undisclosed injury. Johan Larsson, who was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League, practiced again Tuesday in Foligno's place. Larsson was minus-1 in 8:12 against Detroit, his first NHL game this season. Foligno has two goals and an assist and is minus-5 in 11 games. Michal Neuvirth, who earned the win against the Red Wings, is expected back in goal. The game will be the first for captain Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges against their former team since they joined Buffalo during the summer, Gionta via free agency and Gorges in a trade. "It's a little bit of a different game. You're playing your former team for the first time, but at the end of the day, [Wednesday] is two points on the line," Gorges told the Sabres website. "It's an opportunity for us to put two wins together, which we haven't done this year - something we've got to focus on and that's got to be where our heads are at coming in tomorrow night."

Team Stats