MTL@BUF: What you need to know

BUFFALO - The Canadiens will play the second game of their season-opening back-to-back when they take on the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

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Dominique Ducharme's troops were bested 2-1 in their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night. Winger Jonathan Drouin was the lone Hab to get one by Toronto netminder Jack Campbell. It was Drouin's first tally since February 23, 2020, with assists from forward Josh Anderson and defenseman Brett Kulak. Jake Allen stopped 28 of 30 shots in the loss.

On Thursday morning, Ducharme confirmed that goaltender Sam Montembeault would get the start in net.
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Claimed off waivers on October 2, the Becancour native has a 9-8-3 record, 3.20 goals-against average, and .892 save percentage in 25 career NHL games. His last NHL start dates back to March 1, 2020 with the Florida Panthers.
The 24-year-old netminder was a third-round pick (77th overall) by the Panthers in 2015.
Other than Montembeault replacing Allen, Ducharme will be featuring the same lineup that faced Toronto.

For their part, the Sabres are playing their first game of the season and are looking to bounce back after a rough 2020-21 campaign in which they finished dead-last in the NHL with 37 points (15-34-7). Buffalo will be without star forward Jack Eichel, who remains sidelined awaiting treatment for a herniated disk. The Sabres will be counting on a youth movement comprised of the likes of Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, and Tage Thompson to get back on track. Veteran backstop Craig Anderson is expected to get the start in goal.
Tune-in
Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TSN2 and RDS, as well as TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.