Canadiens at Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens are only six points out of the cellar in the Atlantic Division and could inch closer when they visit the last-place Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. The staggering Canadiens have dropped four games in a row and nine of their last 10 (1-7-2), but they have won all three meetings against Buffalo this season.
Montreal owns the worst road record in the NHL at 9-24-4 and Wednesday's 5-3 loss at Pittsburgh marked its seventh consecutive defeat away from home. "I don't think anyone in here is happy with how it's been going lately," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "You come to the rink everyday with the expectation that you're going to win a hockey game, and too many times, I think we've left disappointed. It's been tough." The mood is fairly similar with Buffalo, which is coming off a lackluster 4-1 home loss to Arizona that lifted the Coyotes out of last place in the Western Conference. “We got to make sure we step on the gas and have a little pride,” Sabres forward Jason Pominville said. “That’s what it is, have a little pride in the room to come out with an effort."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2, RDS (Montreal), MSG-Buffalo
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (26-36-12): Carey Price returned from a month-long absence against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, but he will sit Friday in favor of backup Antti Niemi, who has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his last six starts. Rookie Nikita Scherbak scored a short-handed goal against the Penguins, the fourth goal in the last 12 games for the 2014 first-round pick. “When you give him an opportunity to score, he’s going to score most of the time; he’s a pretty skilled player,” coach Claude Julien said.
ABOUT THE SABRES (23-38-12): Buffalo has lost four of its last five games, scoring four goals in the four defeats, and star Jack Eichel said he can understand why the fan base is restless. “What have we really put on the ice for a product for them this year?" Eichel said at Thursday's practice. "We don’t score goals, we really haven’t made them coming to the game worthwhile. So can you blame them? No, you can’t." Linus Ullmark will get the start after Chad Johnson took a shot off the mask in Wednesday's game.
OVERTIME
1. Eichel has zero goals and four assists in 11 games versus the Canadiens.
2. Montreal has allowed 15 power-play goals in its last 11 games.
3. Sabres F Zemgus Girgensons is expected back in the lineup after missing two games.