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

The Buffalo Sabres continue a big week of divisional matchups when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Bell Centre.

It’s a quick turnaround for Buffalo, which on Monday afternoon fought for a back-and-forth, 5-3 win over the Panthers. Florida responded to three Sabres goals before Noah Östlund scored the game winner on a third-period power play.

“In our six games so far,” coach Lindy Ruff said postgame, “that was probably our best hockey.”

• Recap: Sabres overcome Panthers' rallies, Dahlin injury in 5-3 win

Now, the Sabres and Canadiens meet for the first time since the second round of the playoffs, a seven-game series that featured lots of open ice, early goals, special teams and momentum swings. The teams will play again Saturday in Montreal, so this Atlantic Division rivalry could heat up again quickly.

Here are all the details before the early puck drop at 6:30 p.m.

How to watch

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

Streaming (Sabres broadcast market): DAZN

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

The Sabres will be without captain Rasmus Dahlin, who exited Monday’s game in the second period, didn’t fly with the team to Montreal and is considered day to day with an upper-body injury. Barring any transactions, extra defenseman Matt Grzelcyk figures to enter the lineup for his second game of the season.

And it’s unclear which goalie will start after both guys played versus the Panthers – Colten Ellis started but was pulled less than halfway through; Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen entered and made 13 saves for the win.

Check back during 6 p.m. warmups for the full projected lineup.

Notable numbers

• Entering Tuesday, Tage Thompson leads the NHL with 30 shots on goal.
• Power has averaged 26:07 of ice time per game, seventh most in the NHL. He should continue to see heavy workloads in Dahlin’s absence.
• Buffalo’s power play is 3-for-9 in the last two games after starting the season 0-for-13.
• Last season's Sabres went 9-1-3 in the second game of back-to-backs. This is the first back-to-back of 2026-27.
• Olen Zellweger played a season-high 20:03 versus Florida and led all skaters with six shots on goal.
• With the first line of Thompson, Peyton Krebs and Josh Doan on the ice Monday, the Sabres outscored the Panthers, 2-0, and controlled 78 percent of the expected goals (Natural Stat Trick).

Scouting the Canadiens

The Canadiens enter the matchup with more rest, having not played since Saturday’s shootout win over Detroit, but they, too, are missing a key player. Second-year forward Ivan Demidov, who had six points (2+4) in the playoff series, is out a few weeks with a lower-body injury.

Montreal’s usually dangerous power play has gotten off to a slow start, going just 1-for-17 through five games.

And goalie Jakub Dobes, who played the whole playoff series, has an .856 save percentage and 4.43 goals-against average in three starts. Either Dobes or Jacob Fowler (.938, 1.46 in 2 games) will be in net Tuesday.