northernlou
Idi Admin
Montreal at Buffalo
7:00 PM ET, Friday, February 12, 2016
First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
The Montreal Canadiens have turned their fortunes around with a three-game winning streak and look to continue the recovery when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. The Canadiens suffered through a 1-8-1 stretch before Ben Scrivens shut the door in net and Tomas Plekanec provided offense in wins over Edmonton, Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Plekanec scored a pair of goals in the 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday and has collected seven points during the winning stretch while All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban is riding a seven-game point streak. The Canadiens trounced the Sabres 7-2 during their season-opening nine-game run but have slowly fallen out of a playoff position since. Buffalo is building for the future while riding a roller coaster this season and currently resides near the bottom of the league with 48 points. The Sabres dropped a 5-1 decision to Philadelphia on Thursday to extend their winless streak to four games (0-2-2).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet East, RDS (Montreal), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (27-24-4): While there have been plenty of positives over the last three games, Montreal has some injury concerns. Jeff Petry (day-to-day) missed the last contest while fellow defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (day-to-day) and Brian Flynn (six-to-eight weeks) went down Tuesday – all with lower-body injuries – and center Jacob De La Rose was recalled. Scrivens was winless in four games with the Canadiens before recording three straight solid performances, allowing four goals on 98 shots.
ABOUT THE SABRES (21-28-6): Buffalo registered 42 shots in the loss at Philadelphia on Thursday, with Evander Kane leading the way with eight and Justin Bailey recording seven in his NHL debut. Rookie Jack Eichel also had seven shots but remains tied with Sam Reinhart at 16 goals – one behind team leader Ryan O’Reilly, who has not scored in 14 games. Chad Johnson, who is expected to get the start against Montreal, has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his last six contests.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal RW Brendan Gallagher has recorded four points and a plus-6 rating during the winning streak.
2. Buffalo C Daniel Catenacci went through concussion testing Thursday after absorbing a hit by Philadelphia's Radko Gudas and is doubtful for Friday.
3. The Sabres have earned at least one point in five of the last six games in the series (4-1-1).
Trends
Canadiens are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
Sabres are 15-50 in their last 65 games playing on 0 days rest.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_1.html
7:00 PM ET, Friday, February 12, 2016
First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
The Montreal Canadiens have turned their fortunes around with a three-game winning streak and look to continue the recovery when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. The Canadiens suffered through a 1-8-1 stretch before Ben Scrivens shut the door in net and Tomas Plekanec provided offense in wins over Edmonton, Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Plekanec scored a pair of goals in the 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday and has collected seven points during the winning stretch while All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban is riding a seven-game point streak. The Canadiens trounced the Sabres 7-2 during their season-opening nine-game run but have slowly fallen out of a playoff position since. Buffalo is building for the future while riding a roller coaster this season and currently resides near the bottom of the league with 48 points. The Sabres dropped a 5-1 decision to Philadelphia on Thursday to extend their winless streak to four games (0-2-2).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet East, RDS (Montreal), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (27-24-4): While there have been plenty of positives over the last three games, Montreal has some injury concerns. Jeff Petry (day-to-day) missed the last contest while fellow defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (day-to-day) and Brian Flynn (six-to-eight weeks) went down Tuesday – all with lower-body injuries – and center Jacob De La Rose was recalled. Scrivens was winless in four games with the Canadiens before recording three straight solid performances, allowing four goals on 98 shots.
ABOUT THE SABRES (21-28-6): Buffalo registered 42 shots in the loss at Philadelphia on Thursday, with Evander Kane leading the way with eight and Justin Bailey recording seven in his NHL debut. Rookie Jack Eichel also had seven shots but remains tied with Sam Reinhart at 16 goals – one behind team leader Ryan O’Reilly, who has not scored in 14 games. Chad Johnson, who is expected to get the start against Montreal, has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his last six contests.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal RW Brendan Gallagher has recorded four points and a plus-6 rating during the winning streak.
2. Buffalo C Daniel Catenacci went through concussion testing Thursday after absorbing a hit by Philadelphia's Radko Gudas and is doubtful for Friday.
3. The Sabres have earned at least one point in five of the last six games in the series (4-1-1).
Trends
Canadiens are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Road team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
Sabres are 15-50 in their last 65 games playing on 0 days rest.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_1.html
