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GDT: Sabres at Canadiens 3-23-19 7PM


spndnchz

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My #1 team playing at my #2.

MUST WIN!!

GO SABRES!!

@Brawndo, until they are officially eliminated I will cheer with all my voice.  And even after that I will want the Sabres to win every game, but when the playoffs are no longer possible for my beloved Sabres, Les Canadiens will become my team for the playoffs.  If they do not make it then I really don't care what happens, so long as the Leaves don't win the cup EVER.

The end.

By NS.

 

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When the Sabres arrive at Bell Centre for their game on Saturday night, they'll be met by a Montreal Canadiens team that is fighting to keep its grip on the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. 

It took two periods for the Sabres to adjust to the speed and intensity of their opponent in a similar situation on Wednesday, when they met a desperate Toronto Maple Leafs team that was motivated by a string of four losses in five games. The result was a 4-2 loss in a game in which Carter Hutton made 42 saves. 

"They came out with a strong start," Conor Sheary said. "We expected it, I just don't think we were ready. I think coming into tomorrow night, we should have a good start and hopefully come out with a win."

The Sabres are still looking to establish consistency over these last nine games of the season, which includes matchups with potential playoff teams in Montreal, Nashville and Columbus.

Sheary grew accustomed to playing for the playoffs during his first three NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, which included back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. That said, he reaffirmed his belief in the Sabres' core group after practice at Harborcenter on Friday. 

"I think we know we have a good core group of guys in there," he said. "As far as the end of the season, we want to make sure we're building, we're striding in the right direction and building toward the future.

"I think we're a team that's going to be around for a while, not just make a splash. This is a big learning process for us and hopefully we can build off of that."

 

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TONIGHT’S GAME
SABRES at CANADIENS

  • This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Canadiens this season.
  • Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Montreal 3-2 (OT) in Buffalo on Nov. 23. 2018
  • The Sabres are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Canadiens; 5-4-1 on the road.
  • This is the 283rd game all-time between Buffalo and Montreal; Buffalo has a 129-112-41 series record.
  • The Sabres are 55-72-14 on the road against the Canadiens all-time.

THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY

  • The Sabres are 10-7-4 all-time on March 23.
  • March 23, 1975: Rene Robert has a four-point night (2+2) as the Sabres defeat the California Golden Seals 9-4 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
  • March 23, 1983: The Sabres get two goals and two assists from Gilles Hamel in an 8-3 home win over the Hartford Whalers.
  • March 23, 1999: The Sabres acquire Rhett Warrener and a 1999 fifth-round draft choice (Ryan Miller) from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Mike Wilson.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

  • Carter Hutton has appeared in seven career games against Montreal, posting a 4-0-2 record with a .935 save percentage and a 1.69 goals-against average.
  • Conor Sheary has recorded a point in each of his last four games against the Canadiens (2+2).
  • Casey Mittelstadt has posted a point in each of his first three career meetings with Montreal (1+2).
  • Jeff Skinner has recorded 19 points (13+6) in 18 games against Montreal since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, including points in each of his last three visits to Montreal (4+1).
  • Jason Pominville (2+1) and Sam Reinhart (1+2) have each totaled three points in three games against the Canadiens this season.
  • Jack Eichel has recorded two assists in each of his last two games against Montreal.

SEASON SERIES

  • The Sabres have won all three of their previous matchups with the Canadiens this season and are seeking their first four-game winning streak against Montreal since they won six straight from Jan. 18, 2011 to Jan. 31, 2012.
  • Each of Buffalo’s wins against Montreal this season came after trailing in the third period, including two overtime wins.
  • A win tonight would give the Sabres their second-ever season sweep against the Canadiens, and their first since 1983-84 (8-0-0).
  • Buffalo also went undefeated against Montreal in the 1974-75 (4-0-1), 1994-95 (2-0-2) and 1996-97 (3-0-2) season series.

MAKE IT 30

  • If he scores a goal tonight, Jack Eichel will have scored against each of Buffalo’s 30 opponents.
  • By doing so, Eichel would become the second-youngest player (22 years, 146 days) ever to score against 30 different NHL teams, trailing only Aleksander Barkov, who did so at 22 years, 139 days with his goal against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 19, 2018.
  • Artemi Panarin (247 games) is the only player who has scored against 30 NHL opponents in fewer games than Eichel’s278 if he scores tonight.

 

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A FRESH START

  • Through his first 11 games with the Sabres, Brandon Montour has recorded six points (2+4), trailing only Conor Sheary (4+3) for most points during that stretch. Five of his six points as a Sabre (2+3) have come at even strength.
  • According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Montour’s CF%, FF% and SCF% during 5-on-5 play through 11 games with the Sabres top his full-season rates in each of those categories from both of his first two NHL seasons, as well as his rates through 62 games with Anaheim this season.
  • In these 11 games, Montour has also seen a drastic uptick in scoring rates in goals (.60), assists (.30) and points (1.21) per 60 minutes played at 5-on-5 compared to his rates from the last two seasons.

DAH-LEAN ON ME

  • Entering play Friday, Rasmus Dahlin led rookie defensemen and ranked third among all NHL rookies in points (39). His 31 assists ranked second among all rookies.
  • With 39 points (8+31) through 73 games, Dahlin is scoring at a higher rate than he did in the Swedish Hockey League last season, when he totaled 20 points (7+13) in 41 games for Frölunda.
  • With his assist on Wednesday vs. Toronto, Dahlin passed Bobby Orr (38 points in 1966-67) for the second-most points ever recorded by an NHL defenseman before his 19th birthday, trailing only Phil Housley (57 points in 1982-83).
  • With seven multi-point games so far this season, Dahlin has recorded more multi-point games as an 18-year-old than all but two defensemen in NHL history: Housley(13) and Orr (8).
  • Dahlin’s three game-winning goals this season are the most ever recorded by a Sabres rookie defenseman. His total also ties for ninth-most by any Sabres rookie and eighth-most in a season by any defenseman in franchise history.

JACK ATTACK

  • Jack Eichel has totaled 73 points this season, setting a new career-high mark and also tying his previous high with 25 goals. He has joined Rick Martin and Thomas Vanek as the third player in franchise history to record at least 20 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons.
  • With 48 assists so far this season, Eichel is the first Sabres player to record at least 45 assists in a season since Tim Connolly recorded 48 in 2009-10. The last Sabre to record at least 50 assists was Jason Pominville (53) in 2007-08.

 

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4 hours ago, Scottysabres said:

I hate myself for this, but really need Montreal to pull it out in regulation, for the sake of the Blues pick to stay below 20th.

But, GO SABRES!!!!!

Don't we want the Blues to stay above 20th and therefore have to accept the SJ pick (which is better for us)?  I thought if the Blues finished with the 20-31 pick, it was their option to take it instead of the SJ pick.  I've been confused about this since the trade.

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44 minutes ago, Tondas said:

Don't we want the Blues to stay above 20th and therefore have to accept the SJ pick (which is better for us)?  I thought if the Blues finished with the 20-31 pick, it was their option to take it instead of the SJ pick.  I've been confused about this since the trade.

We traded either the San Jose or St. Louis pick, which ever is higher, to Anaheim in the Montour deal.

The St. Louis pick can only be retained by St. Louis if it's top 10.

So, if the Blues finish in the 15 to 19 position, which is where they are floating around at right now, and they don't make the Conference finals, which, I don't see them getting past the 2nd rd of the playoffs, quite frankly, I don't see them getting out of the 1st round as the top tier teams consistently man handle them, then the Blues pick is ours. If it goes above 20, but is lower than the San Jose pick, then the Blues pick goes to Anaheim.

I'd rather have Anaheim have the San Jose pick, as it doesn't appear they are not dropping below 25th over all come draft time. I'd like the Blues to stay below 20 before the playoffs.

Edited by Scottysabres
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1 hour ago, Tondas said:

Don't we want the Blues to stay above 20th and therefore have to accept the SJ pick (which is better for us)?  I thought if the Blues finished with the 20-31 pick, it was their option to take it instead of the SJ pick.  I've been confused about this since the trade.

In practical terms, this pick remains the Blues pick if it's in the top 10 (it still could in the unlikely event the Blues miss the playoffs), becomes the Sabres pick if lands 11 to 20 and will be the Ducks pick if it's lower than 20 and higher than San Jose's pick. Right now, the Blues pick would be 19th and the Sharks 28th. Playoff results could significantly change that.

WIKIPEDIA:

  1. The teams that did not qualify for the playoffs the previous season (picks 1–15)
  2. The teams that made the playoffs in the previous season but did not win either their division in the regular season or play in the Conference Finals (picks 16–23 up to 27)
  3. The teams that won their divisions in the previous season but did not play in the Conference Finals (potentially picks 24–27)
  4. The teams that lose in Conference Finals (picks 28 and 29)
  5. The team that was the runner-up in the Stanley Cup Finals (pick 30)
  6. The team that won the Stanley Cup in the previous season (pick 31)

Right now the Blues are four points ahead of Dallas who holds the 16th pick and three behind Vegas who holds the 21st.

In practical terms — and pending a Blues run into the final four — any combination of Vegas wins and St. Louis losses that equal 7 should clinch the Blues pick for Buffalo. Both teams have eight games left.

EDIT: looks like Scotty and I were replying at the same time.

Edited by dudacek
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For all that are interested ... this game is the HNIC French language (I think) game and is also on SN (a National Game, I think).

Also, on a radio, or satellite near you, the game is on the TSN Habs (English) Radio Network, which includes News 95.7 here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, North America, Planet Earth.  I may actually catch a few minutes of this one on the radio.  I do have one of those. 

Edited by New Scotland (NS)
back to work I go ...
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Montreal really needs this one and they are home.  Buffalo is about to be eliminated and have been moribund for many months, coming off an embarrassing home (sort of) loss to the Leaves   The Sabres top scorers are silent and their line broken up, the coach is trying bizarre line combo’s and is under media scrutiny , their road record is terrible,  they have not played three solid periods in 4 months and have not won 2 in a row in that span.   

Despite all this I think we match up well and might actually win this one, all but guaranteeing a bad loss against the woeful Devils in their next game. 

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All these closet Montreal fans, no wonder Buffalo culture is a problem! Rico and Gilbert are crying somewhere................

F**k the Habs. Always hated them always will as all Buffalo fans should. 

I actually don't think they are any better than us aside from goaltending. Likely they win, but if we get good goaltending it's a toss up. 

 

 

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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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