Here's how the group lined up this morning in Thompson's absence:
| March 27 vs. Montreal |
| --- |
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 22 Jack Quinn |
| 13 Lukas Rousek | 17 Tyson Jost | 71 Victor Olofsson |
| 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 19 Peyton Krebs | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| | | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 31 Eric Comrie |
| 25 Owen Power | 46 Ilya Lyubushkin | 1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| 61 Riley Stillman | 78 Jacob Bryson | |
| | | |
Vinnie Hinostroza was back on the ice with the team after being excused since last Thursday due to a personal matter. Jordan Greenway, who is day to day with an upper-body injury, also skated.
Lukas Rousek will be expected to make his NHL debut in the event Thompson cannot play after spending the morning skate on a line with Tyson Jost and Victor Olofsson.
Rousek, 23, was recalled and took warmups as an extra forward prior to the Sabres' game against the Islanders on Saturday. He returned to Rochester and tallied an assist in its victory over Cleveland on Sunday and was recalled a second time this morning.
Rousek ranks second on the Amerks with 49 points (15+36) this season. He made a strong impression on the Buffalo staff during training camp.
"Scrappy," Granato said Saturday when asked to describe Rousek's game. "Scrappy, very good situational awareness, hockey sense. A good combination of grit and skill."
The Sabres enter tonight six points out of a playoff spot with one game in hand.
Here is the full Wild Card picture:
| Team | GP | Points | P% | Reg. W | ROW |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WC1 - New York Islanders | 74 | 83 | .561 | 32 | 37 |
| WC2 - Pittsburgh Penguins | 73 | 82 | .562 | 27 | 35 |
| Florida Panthers | 73 | 79 | .541 | 31 | 34 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 72 | 76 | .528 | 27 | 34 |
| Washington Capitals | 74 | 76 | .514 | 26 | 32 |
| Ottawa Senators | 73 | 75 | .514 | 28 | 33 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 72 | 71 | .493 | 24 | 28 |
The Canadiens are coming off an 8-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Nick Suzuki had a goal and three assists to extend his point streak to four games and increase his team-leading point total to 61.
This is the third and final meeting this season between the Sabres and Canadiens. Sam Montembault made 43 saves to earn a 3-2 win for the Canadiens on October 27. The Sabres won 7-2 in Montreal on November 22, fueled by a five-point night from Jeff Skinner.
Jake Allen (14-24-3, .891 save percentage) will start in goal tonight.
The Sabres will host their third annual Pride Night in celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Players will wear special Pride-themed jerseys in pregame warmups, use custom pucks commemorating the night during the skate, and have option of using Pride Tape during warmups. The jerseys and sticks of the players who used Pride Tape will be auctioned off at Sabres.com/Auction to benefit local Pride organizations.
