Canadiens at Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens look to halt a pair of losing streaks and keep some distance between themselves and the Sabres in the standings when the Atlantic Division rivals face off in Buffalo on Wednesday. Montreal has dropped four straight road contests (0-3-1) and two in a row overall after completing its four-game homestand with Tuesday's 4-1 setback against Florida.
Alex Galchenyuk scored the lone goal for the Canadiens and has netted seven of his team-leading 26 tallies over his last five contests. Montreal hopes to move farther ahead of Buffalo, which trails its long-time rival by five points with 12 games remaining. Passing the Canadiens for 13th place would be a huge moral victory for the Sabres, who finished in the basement of their division each of the last three seasons and of the league both of the last two. Buffalo, which sits six points ahead of last-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference, fell to 2-2-0 in the season series with the Canadiens after dropping a 3-2 decision at Montreal on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (32-32-6): Captain Max Pacioretty's assist on Tuesday was his 52nd point of the season, moving him past defenseman P.K. Subban for the team lead. The 27-year-old left wing needs 16 points over his last 12 games to surpass his career high set last campaign. Subban has yet to participate in practice since suffering a neck injury in Thursday's victory over Buffalo and will miss his third consecutive game.
ABOUT THE SABRES (28-33-9): Buffalo has earned at least one point in five of its seven games this month - improving to 3-2-2 in that span with an overtime triumph over Carolina on Saturday in the opener of its final homestand of the season, which concludes Friday against Ottawa. Goaltender Jason Kasdorf, who was acquired from Winnipeg along with Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian in February 2015, will remain with the team for the rest of the season after signing an entry-level contract on Monday. "I'm incredibly excited," the 23-year-old told the team's website. "I'm just thrilled about the opportunity I have to be here, to be a part of the organization. It's a dream come true."
OVERTIME
1. Sabres C Ryan O'Reilly, who leads the team with 49 points despite not playing since Feb. 19 due to a foot injury, may return to the lineup Wednesday.
2. Montreal G Mike Condon has played against every team during his rookie season except for the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, whom the Canadiens face two times later this month.
3. Buffalo rookie C Jack Eichel tops the club with 22 goals and trails O'Reilly in points by just one.