CANADIENS AT SABRES
Five things you need to know when the Habs meet the Sabres on Thursday at the KeyBank Centre in Buffalo (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), by Pat Hickey.
1 The matchup
The Canadiens go on the road for a pair of games against Atlantic Division rivals — they’re in Boston on Saturday — and they hold down one of the top spots in the division with a 5-1-2 record after beating the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Tuesday. The Sabres had the worst record in the NHL last season, but have had a competitive start to the season with a 5-4 record. The Sabres are wellrested and are riding a modest two-game win streak after beating Anaheim 4-2 Sunday.
2 Good time for Niemi Canadiens head coach Claude Julien has to find opportunities for backup goaltender Antti Niemi and he thinks this is one of those games. Niemi, who won his first two starts this season as a fill-in for Carey Price, has a 2.18 career goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in eight career games against Buffalo. The only time he faced Buffalo with the Canadiens was on March 23, when he made 35 saves in a 3-0 win over the Sabres at the KeyBank Centre.
3 Domi, Drouin connect Jonathan Drouin and newcomer Max Domi have found some chemistry in five games together. Drouin has points in each of those games, collecting three goals and four assists. During the same stretch, Domi has scored twice and added three assists. Domi has eight points (two goals) on the season and shares the team scoring lead with Tomas Tatar (three goals) and defenceman Jeff Petry (one goal).
4 Rookie watch
This game will feature two of the top three picks in this year’s entry draft. Buffalo’s reward for finishing last in the NHL was Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, who was the consensus top prospect. Dahlin has averaged a shade over 19 minutes a game, and has one goal and two assists in nine games. The Canadiens counter with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was picked No. 3 overall. The plan was for the 18-year-old centre to go back to Finland, but he’s shown he belongs in the NHL and has three assists in eight games.
5 The other guys
Jack Eichel, who was the consolation prize when the Edmonton Oilers snatched Connor McDavid in the 2015 entry draft, is off to a point-a-game start with three goals and six assists in nine games. The Sabres’ leading goalscorer is Jeff Skinner with five. Skinner, 26, was acquired from Carolina in a midsummer trade because the Hurricanes weren’t sure they could re-sign him before he became an unrestricted free agent next July. Former Canadiens defenceman Nathan Beaulieu is a question mark for this game. He’s missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury.