Sabres at Canadiens
THE STORY: Two of the more disappointing teams in the NHL will square off when the Montreal Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. It's been a season to forget for both teams. Buffalo comes out of the All-Star break mired in a three-way tie for the basement in the Eastern Conference. Montreal, meanwhile, sits only two points above the Sabres in the standings and is eight points out of the final playoff slot. One of the few positives for the Sabres this season has been their success against the Canadiens. Buffalo has won both matchups in Montreal and has beaten the Canadiens five consecutive times. That's no small feat for a team that had dropped 12 consecutive games on the road prior to a shootout win at New Jersey in the final game before the All-Star break. Montreal has won its last two, including an impressive 7-2 rout of league-best Detroit on Wednesday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), RDS (Montreal)
ABOUT THE SABRES (20-24-5): Buffalo had lost five straight overall – all away from home – before snapping a franchise-record 12-game road losing streak with the 2-1 shootout victory over the Devils. Offense, or lack thereof, has been the biggest issue for the Sabres, who were outscored 23-7 during the five-game skid. The power outage is teamwide. Four players – Ville Leino, Luke Adam, Nathan Gerbe and Brad Boyes – are riding streaks of at least 23 games where they have each scored only one goal.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (19-21-9): Montreal’s offense has perked up, collecting 15 goals in its past three games. David DeSharnais had his first career two-goal game in the romp over Detroit, giving him 14 points in his last 12 games. Rene Bourque, acquired in the trade for Michael Cammalleri, scored for the second straight game. The Canadiens boast the league’s top penalty-killing unit, but that is offset by a power play that ranks dead last with a conversion rate of 12.6 percent.
OVERTIME:
1. Montreal All-Star goaltender Carey Price has lost his last five decisions to the Sabres. Two of the defeats came in shootouts and one in overtime.
2. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller is having the worst season of his career, but he is 20-8-5 lifetime against the Canadiens.
3. Montreal is seeking its first three-game winning streak since posting four straight wins from Oct. 26 to Nov. 4.