The Montreal Canadiens (30-17-7) face the Buffalo Sabres (31-17-5) in an Atlantic Division rivalry at KeyBank Center. Both teams are tied at 67 points, with Buffalo holding the edge via fewer games played, sitting third in the division while Montreal is fourth. This marks their third meeting of the 2025-26 season, with each winning once: Montreal 4-2 on Oct. 20 and Buffalo 4-2 on Jan. 22. The Canadiens enter off a high-scoring win, showcasing offensive depth, while the Sabres ride a three-game streak with strong goaltending despite injuries. Expect a competitive, potentially high-event game between two playoff contenders.
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT)
TV/Streaming: NHL Network, MSG-B, SNE, TVAS, CITY, SN+, ESPN+
Recent Team Forms
Canadiens (6-3-1 in last 10): Montreal averages 3.4 goals scored and 3.3 allowed recently. They’ve won four of five, highlighted by a 7-3 thrashing of Colorado (Jan. 29) with multi-point efforts from Suzuki and Dach. Losses include 4-3 to Boston (Jan. 24) and 4-2 to Buffalo (Jan. 22), showing road vulnerabilities
Last 5 Games:
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Jan 29 | vs COL | W 7-3 |
| Jan 27 | vs VGK | W 3-2 (OT) |
| Jan 24 | @ BOS | L 3-4 |
| Jan 22 | vs BUF | L 2-4 |
| Jan 19 | @ NYI | W 4-1 |
Sabres (7-3-0 in last 10): Buffalo averages 3.4 goals scored and 3.0 allowed, winning seven straight before a brief dip. They’ve gone 4-1 at home recently, including a 4-1 shutout of Los Angeles (Jan. 29) and 7-4 over Toronto (Jan. 27). A 10-game win streak earlier in January boosted them
Last 5 Games:
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| Jan 29 | vs LAK | W 4-1 |
| Jan 27 | @ TOR | W 7-4 |
| Jan 24 | vs NSH | W 5-3 |
| Jan 22 | @ MTL | W 4-2 |
| Jan 19 | vs FLA | W 3-2 |
Injury Report
Canadiens:
Patrik Laine (RW, abdomen): IR, expected out until Feb. 28
Alex Newhook (C, ankle): IR, expected out until Mar. 17
Kaiden Guhle (D, head/upper body): Day-to-day after scare vs. Colorado but returned
Phillip Danault (C, undisclosed): Day-to-day after bench visit but played
Sabres:
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (G, lower body): Out until at least Feb. 5
Jordan Greenway (LW, lower body): Day-to-day
Josh Norris (C, ribs): IR, expected back Feb. 2
Justin Danforth (RW, lower body): IR, expected back Feb. 25
Jacob Bryson (D, upper body): IR, expected back Jan. 31
Jiri Kulich (C, blood clot): Out indefinitely, skating lightly
Projected starters: Jakub Dobes (MTL, 7-0-1 in last 8) vs. Alex Lyon (BUF, .903 SV%)
Key Player Matchups
Nick Suzuki (Canadiens C) vs. Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres D): Suzuki leads Montreal with 18 goals and 44 assists (62 points), on a seven-game point streak (4G, 8A). He’ll challenge Dahlin (9G, 38A), Buffalo’s top defenseman averaging 24+ minutes and key on the power play
Cole Caufield (Canadiens RW) vs. Tage Thompson (Sabres C): Caufield tops Montreal scorers with 30 goals, ending a six-game streak but potent (24A total). Thompson leads Buffalo with 28 goals and 27 assists (55 points), riding a hot streak
Juraj Slafkovsky (Canadiens LW) vs. Alex Tuch (Sabres RW): Slafkovsky (recent goal) provides physicality and setup (assists-heavy); Tuch (8G in last 10) counters with speed and scoring (5G in last 3)
Goaltending Duel: Jakub Dobes (Canadiens) vs. Alex Lyon (Sabres): Dobes (7-0-1 streak, .914 SV%) anchors Montreal’s surge; Lyon (.903 SV%) steps up sans Luukkonen, with recent shutouts
Projected Lineups
Canadiens: Slafkovsky-Suzuki-Caufield; Dach-Evans-Gallagher; Armia-Newhook (if available)-Anderson; Pezzetta-Dvorak-Roy. Defense: Matheson-Guhle; Hutson-Xhekaj; Barron-Struble. Goalie: Dobes.
Sabres: Greenway (if available)-Thompson-Tuch; Benson-Cozen-Quinn; Kulich (if available)-McLeod-Peterka; Olofsson-Krebs-Lafferty. Defense: Dahlin-Power; Samuelsson-Clifton; Byram-Jokiharju. Goalie: Lyon.
Series History
Montreal holds the all-time edge: 147-138-31-5 in regular season (overall 155-147-31-5 including playoffs). In playoffs, they’ve met seven times (Montreal leads 4-3 series). Recently, Buffalo is 9-8-3 in the last 20, including wins in the last two (4-2 on Jan. 22, 5-3 on Jan. 15). At KeyBank Center, Sabres are 5-4-1 in the last 10 vs. Montreal
Betting Trends
Over/Under: Over has hit in 21 of Montreal’s last 30 when opponent allowed 2 or fewer last game; Under in 5 of Buffalo’s last 7 home underdog games. Canadiens 5-2 SU in last 7 vs. Buffalo; Sabres 3-2 ATS in last 5. Montreal 13-5 SU in last 18 as road favorites (-151 to -200); Buffalo 4-1 in last 5 home games
Game Odds
Montreal Canadiens 6.5
Buffalo Sabres – 130
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Friday, January 30, 2026
