Sabres at Canadiens | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

MONTREAL, Quebec – The Buffalo Sabres again face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Bell Centre.

Third place in the Atlantic Division once felt far off for these Sabres, who at 11-14-4 sat in the basement of the Eastern Conference. But a 16-3-1 stretch since has Buffalo just four points behind the third-place Canadiens entering Thursday, with one game in hand.

In those 20 games – a quarter of the season, a significant sample size – the Sabres have proven they’re a good team, not a fluke. They’ve dominated at home and on the road, won back-and-forth contests and staved off comeback bids, and kept pushing through a grueling January schedule.

• From Tuesday: Kids take over, Sabres survive Predators’ comeback push

Key to that rise in the standings has been the Sabres’ success within the conference – they’ve gone 3-1-0 versus divisional opponents and 8-3-0 versus Eastern Conference opponents since Dec. 9. For the season, Buffalo is 8-3-2 in Atlantic Division matchups, and four of those five losses came back in October.

Last Thursday, the Sabres rode Tage Thompson’s three-goal, five-point outburst to a 5-3 home win over Montreal. Who will step up for this week’s matchup?

Here’s what you need to know before puck drop.

How to watch

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

Streaming: Gotham Sports App, ESPN+ (out of market)

Radio: WWKB 1520 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres were off Wednesday, so check back during the 11:30 a.m. morning skate and 6:30 p.m. warmups for potential updates on the lines, starting goalie and defenseman Michael Kesselring, who’s missed the last two games after tweaking his ankle injury.

Doan deal

First-year Sabre Josh Doan was scheduled for restricted free agency this summer, but not anymore; on Wednesday, the 23-year-old forward signed a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value of $6.95 million.

Doan ranks third on the team in goals (15) and fourth in points (35). Beyond scoring, his defensive work – best summarized by a league-leading 35 takeaways – has been crucial to Buffalo’s success this season.

Doan will address the media after the morning skate in Montreal, so stay tuned to Sabres.com for full coverage of the news.

The youth movement

Buffalo’s third line dominated the first period Tuesday in Nashville. Konsta Helenius, playing his second NHL game, had three points (1+2), and Noah Ostlund scored two goals. Zach Benson, another former first-round pick, did his part in setting up those plays.

The trio have played 14:42 together at 5-on-5 in the last two games; during those shifts, Buffalo has dominated the shot attempts (17-7), shots on goal (11-4), scoring chances (8-3) and goals (2-0), per Natural Stat Trick.

What makes coach Lindy Ruff comfortable deploying that line, whose oldest member is the 21-year-old Ostlund at center?

“I think the world of Ostlund, the way he plays down low and how smart he’s been,” Ruff said. “Just give them the opportunity, trust them to play. And I think if you keep getting thrown out there, you feel good about your game.”

Scouting the Canadiens

Cole Caufield scored the game winner with 15 seconds remaining on Tuesday versus Minnesota, so Montreal is now 7-3-1 in January – including 4-1-0 at home.

Defenseman Lane Hutson notched two assists last week in Buffalo and has 14 points (4+10) in 11 games this month. Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky each have six goals.

Montreal loaned goalie Jacob Fowler back to Laval after he allowed four goals in Buffalo, so it’ll be either Jakub Dobes (15-5-3, .887 save percentage) or Samuel Montembeault (9-6-2, .873) in net Thursday.

The Sabres have lost three straight games at Bell Centre: two last season and a 4-2 defeat on Oct. 20.