Canadiens at Sabres Game Preview: Dec. 9, 2023
The Habs are looking to bounce back against Buffalo tonight.
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Welcome to THW Montreal Canadiens Game Preview, where we discuss every upcoming Habs game. Before each contest, we will look at the Canadiens’ projected lineups, notes, and predictions.
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Now, let’s get this preview started, and don’t forget to join our live game chat for the contest!
The Canadiens (11-12-3) are going up against the Buffalo Sabres (11-14-2) tonight. The Habs are coming off a tough 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings and looking to bounce back.
The Sabres, on the other hand, are coming off back-to-back wins against the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. Thus, they are feeling it, and cannot be taken lightly.
Let’s now take a look at the Habs’ projected lineup, game notes, and predictions.
Canadiens’ Projected Lines & Defence Pairings
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Evans - Monahan - Anderson
Pearson - Dvorak - Gallagher
Armia - Stephens - Ylonen
Matheson - Lindstrom
Guhle - Barron
Struble - Kovacevic
Primeau
Armia In, Pezzetta Out
The Habs are making a change on their fourth line. Joel Armia will be back in the lineup for Montreal, while Michael Pezzetta will be scratched.
Pezzetta returned to the lineup for the Habs’ last game, but now the expectation is that he will be a healthy scratch. Armia sat against the Kings but will now look to make an impact against Buffalo. He has two goals in his last four games.
Primeau to Start
Third-string goaltender Cayden Primeau will get the start tonight vs. Buffalo. His last appearance against the Florida Panthers was rough, as he allowed five goals on 29 shots. He will look to regroup against the Sabres from here.
Predictions
Primeau’s goal is to bounce back tonight, and I think he will with a big performance. He has done well after poor starts multiple times this season, and I think this trend will continue.
With Armia getting back into the lineup, I expect him to have a strong night. With the way he has been scoring lately, perhaps another goal is in his future for this matchup.
After scoring in the first game of the season, Jake Evans has gone 25 games straight without another. That should change tonight.
As for a final score prediction, I think that the Canadiens will take this one by a 3-1 final score.
It will be fun to see how the Canadiens perform against the Sabres. This has all the makings of being a very entertaining Atlantic Division matchup.