The Montreal Canadiens (30-17-7) are set to face the Buffalo Sabres (31-17-5), with the puck drop scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
Even though the Canadiens managed to beat Buffalo the first time they met in 2025-26, a 4-2 win on October 20, it’s fair to say the Sabres have held the edge throughout the season.
Buffalo soundly beat the Canadiens twice in January, with impressive forward Tage Thompson leading the charge for the surging Sabres. It’s become a recurring theme for Thompson, who clearly enjoys facing the Habs. In 19 games versus Montreal throughout his career, Thompson has produced 12 goals and 10 assists.
The Sabres have won seven of their last 10 games, another reminder that they’ve finally turned the corner in what seemed to be an eternal rebuild. Of course, criticism will follow them around until they qualify for the playoffs, but given the updated Eastern Conference playoff odds, there’s a healthy chance both Buffalo and Montreal will be involved in springtime hockey once the regular season wraps up.
With that in mind, winning on Saturday will still go a long way for either organization, especially when we consider almost every team in the Eastern Conference still has a legitimate chance to make the cut, and this is an Atlantic Division match-up, making it a four-point game.
Lineup Changes, Starting Goalie
It’s now clear that netminder Jakub Dobes has become Montreal’s preferred starter, at least for the time being. He will guard the net versus the Sabres, marking the third game in a row in which the Habs turn to Dobes rather than veteran Samuel Montembeault.
Dobes has not lost in regulation since December 9, and though his save percentage is far from dominant (.890), it’s only fair to say he currently gives the Canadiens their best chance to win a game on any given night.
Seeing as the Habs are in the midst of a two-game winning streak, head coach Martin St-Louis will run the exact same lines that secured two points versus the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, a dominant 7-3 victory over the league’s best team.
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Texier
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc – Jake Evans – Kirby Dach
Josh Anderson – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson – Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj – Alex Carrier
Jakub Dobes
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lineup
Zach Benson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Josh Doan – Noah Ostlund – Konsta Helenius
Tyson Kozak – Peyton Krebs – Beck Malenstyn
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram – Owen Power
Zach Metsa – Michael Kesselring
Alex Lyon
How To Watch The Habs Vs. The Buffalo Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens versus the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, January 31, 2026, will be aired on Sportsnet East, TVA Sports, and City TV. An instant recap complete with highlights will be available on Sportsnaut as soon as the final whistle takes place.
