3 Things to Watch: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 4 of Eastern 2nd Round

(1A) Buffalo Sabres at (3A) Montreal Canadiens

Eastern Conference Second Round, Game 4

Montreal leads best-of-7 series 2-1

7 p.m. ET: CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN

MONTREAL -- The Buffalo Sabres will make a change in goal and start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Bell Centre on Tuesday. 

Alex Lyon started the previous seven games after replacing Luukkonen in Game 2 of the first round against the Boston Bruins on April 21. He allowed five goals on 36 shots in Buffalo's 6-2 loss in Game 3 on Sunday.

Other potential lineup changes are Luke Schenn in for Logan Stanley on defense and Konsta Helenius for Sam Carrick at forward.

The Sabres will face another vocal and energized crowd, but it's the way they've played in consecutive losses that had Ruff considering adjustments ahead of Game 4.

"You've just got to stay patient and stay ready," said Schenn, who hasn't played since April 15. "It happened in my first year (with the Tampa Bay Lightning), for sure. I don't think I played at all in the first series, so, yeah, work with the coaches, work with the extras and keep yourself as ready as you can."

The Canadiens are looking to try to continue the run that's seen them use their speed and skill to score 11 goals in their two wins.

"Obviously, huge, big learning process for this young team, but also we know we can do it," forward Phillip Danault said. "It's a big game. We know they're going to come out hard, and we've got a big chance to go 3-1, so it should be a big one for all of us."

Montreal could become the first team to take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series for the 30th time (29-0). Buffalo is 8-6 in Game 4 when trailing 2-1, including 2-1 on the road. 

"The mood is awesome," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "The mood is awesome. We've been challenged all year long. It's another challenge. We know we haven't played our best game. We know we need to play our best tonight."

Here are three things to watch in Game 4:

1. Early goal rush again?

In each of the three games, one of the teams has found itself chasing the game early.

Will that be the case again in Game 4?

Consider the precedent that has been set in the series:

In Game 1, Buffalo's Josh Doan scored at 4:31 of the first period to set the tone for a 4-2 victory.

In Game 2, Montreal's Alex Newhook scored just 1:36 after the opening face-off, followed by a Mike Matheson goal at 4:27. Those two early goals propelled the Canadiens to a 5-1 win to tie the series.

In Game 3, it was Tage Thompson who scored 53 seconds into the first to put the Sabres ahead 1-0 and quiet the raucous Bell Centre crowd, albeit temporarily. The fans here had plenty to cheer for the rest of the way in a 6-2 Canadiens victory.

"I don't know why," Montreal forward Zachary Bolduc said. "Both teams want good starts. You don't want to start with one behind, but yeah, whenever you can take the lead early in a game, it's perfect. But it's part of the game; sometimes you get scored on pretty early and you've just got to find a way to respond."

2. Demidov 'getting more touches'

The flashy Canadiens rookie has found the Stanley Cup Playoffs to be a tough slog thus far, given the fact open ice is more difficult to come by.

The 20-year-old forward, who scored 19 goals during the regular season, had just one assist in Montreal's seven-game win against Tampa Bay in the first round. He has shown signs of coming around against the Sabres with two assists and the occasional offensive flashes he's known for.

"He's obviously getting a lot more touches, I feel," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "I feel like the power play is helping him feel good with the puck. I think that translates to 5-on-5.

"I think we're finding ways to play in space 5-on-5, which creates more touches for him."

3. Manage the puck

Perhaps the Sabres' biggest issue the past two games has been puck management with a total of 24 giveaways. 

"They're playing well, they pressure hard, they skate really well, they defend hard," forward Jason Zucker said. "For us, it's about imposing our will and trying to beat them in those areas and get more pucks to the net."

It's something they'll have to correct, along with a host of defensive issues. 

"I don't think we played well as a team and I think they beat (us) in all facets of the game," Zucker said. "For us, it was good to learn from it and ready to go tonight."

Sabres projected lineup

Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch

Zach Benson -- Josh Norris -- Josh Doan

Jason Zucker -- Konsta Helenius -- Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway -- Ryan McLeod -- Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson

Bowen Byram -- Owen Power

Luke Schenn -- Conor Timmins

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Alex Lyon

Scratched: Sam Carrick, Josh Dunne, Colten Ellis, Michael Kesselring, Tyson Kozak, Tanner Pearson, Logan Stanley

Injured: Noah Ostlund (lower body), Jiri Kulich (blood clot), Justin Danforth (lower body)

Canadiens projected lineup

Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Juraj Slafkovsky

Alex Newhook -- Jake Evans -- Ivan Demidov

Alexandre Texier -- Phillip Danault -- Josh Anderson

Zachary Bolduc -- Joe Veleno -- Kirby Dach

Mike Matheson -- Alexandre Carrier

Lane Hutson -- Noah Dobson

Arber Xhekaj -- Kaiden Guhle

Jakub Dobes

Jacob Fowler

Scratched: Brendan Gallagher, Jayden Struble, Oliver Kapanen, Samuel Montembeault, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher, Owen Beck, Florian Xhekaj

Injured: Patrik Laine (lower body)

Status report

Helenius will make his playoff debut. … The Canadiens are expected to use the same lineup for a fourth straight game. … Matheson and Anderson did not participate in the morning skate but are expected to play. … Montreal recalled defensemen Reinbacher and Engstrom, and forwards Beck and Florian Xhekaj, from Laval of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report