Canadiens at Sabres
THE STORY: The Buffalo Sabres still have a heartbeat in the Eastern Conference playoff race, winning five of their last seven games and sitting tied for ninth. Montreal, which rests in the East basement, wraps a four-game road trip in Buffalo on Monday with a chance to win three in a row for only the third time this season. The Canadiens beat the Sabres 4-3 in a shootout on Feb. 17 – the first time they bested their Northeast rivals in eight meetings.
TV: 7 p.m., MSG Buffalo (Sabres), RDS (Canadiens)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (27-32-10): To the surprise of many, defenseman Andrei Markov made his return to the lineup against Vancouver on Saturday, helping the Canadiens upset the Western Conference’s top team 4-1. Markov has endure three knee surgeries - two major - in the past 22 months and - with Montreal’s season lost - could have easily been shut down. However, the 33-year-old blueliner recorded an assist on P.K. Subban’s power-play goal, took two shots and blocked one in just over 17 minutes of ice time. It was a rare bright spot in a dark season for the Canadiens.
ABOUT THE SABRES (32-29-8): Buffalo is primed for a run at the final postseason ticket in the East, but may run out of bodies before the regular season ends. The Sabres’ 4-3 shootout victory over Ottawa was dampened by injuries to wingers Matt Ellis (lower body) and Patrick Kaleta (neck). Buffalo is already without second-leading scorer Thomas Vanek, who left Thursday’s loss to Boston with an upper-body injury. All three forwards are listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
OVERTIME:
1. The road team has won each of the last six meetings.
2. The last time Montreal won three straight on the road was March 5, 2011.
3. Buffalo is 7-4 in shootouts this season. The Sabres and Canadiens have gone to a shootout in two of their last three meetings.