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

For the second time in five days, the Buffalo Sabres take on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The division rivals’ first matchup this week went Montreal’s way in a shootout. The Rasmus Dahlin-less Sabres managed just 16 total shots and handed the Canadiens’ top players too many scoring chances, although Buffalo did overcome a 3-1, third-period deficit to earn a point in the standings.

Multi-goal comebacks have been the story of the early season for the Sabres (4-3-1). The numbers:

• They’ve climbed out of two-goal holes in four games, collecting seven points with those efforts.
• They have three wins when trailing after two periods; no other team has two.
• They rank 32nd leaguewide in second-period goal differential (-10) but second in third-period differential (+7).

Most recently, Thursday in Toronto, Buffalo rallied back from 4-2 before Owen Power beat the Leafs in overtime.

• Recap: ‘He’s done the work’ | Quinn’s career night fuels comeback in Toronto

“We don’t like playing from behind, but obviously we’ve fought our way back, clawed our way back into games down by a couple goals,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’ve got to fix the start, obviously.”

Here are all the details of the Sabres’ last regular-season visit to Montreal.

How to watch

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

Dahlin (upper body) won’t return to the lineup but is “feeling better today than yesterday,” Ruff said Friday. That likely means another game for defenseman Dennis Gilbert, who has a goal and an assist in the last two.

Josh Norris struggled off the ice after an awkward hit from Toronto defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Thursday’s overtime, but he was back on the ice at Friday’s optional practice.

And the Sabres are “hopeful” Jiri Kulich can rejoin the road trip and be an option to play. He wasn’t feeling well Thursday morning and returned to Buffalo as a precaution, but all tests came back negative.

Check back during 6:30 p.m. warmups for the full projected lineup.

Notable numbers

• Buffalo has started 2-0-1 (.833) against Atlantic Division opponents. Last season, it ranked first in the Atlantic in intra-division record (16-6-4, .692).
• The Sabres have outscored opponents 6-1 with linemates Zach Benson, Noah Östlund and Jack Quinn together at 5-on-5.
• On Thursday, Quinn matched his single-game career highs in points (4) and plus/minus (+4).
• Benson has four assists during his current three-game point streak.
• Saturday’s matchup features two of the top puck-carrying defensemen this season: Lane Hutson ranks second with 25:41 of total possession time, Owen Power ranks fourth with 21:07 (Stathletes).
• Power also ranks fourth leaguewide in time on ice per game (26:38).
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has 1.98 goals saved above expected between the last two games (Stathletes).

Scouting the Canadiens

Between Sabres matchups, the Canadiens lost 5-4 in Washington on Wednesday. It was another tough outing for goalie Jakub Dobes, who’s now 1-2-1 with an .842 save percentage and 4.63 goals-against average to start the season. It’s unclear if Dobes or Jacob Fowler – who played Tuesday – will get the net for this one.

Hutson continues to be a problem for the Sabres; after a two-point night Tuesday, the defenseman has 22 points (2+20) in 16 career games against Buffalo, regular season and playoffs.

After Saturday, these teams will play again Dec. 18 and Jan. 18 in Buffalo.