Projected Lineups for Canadiens vs Sabres – 3/1/25

The Montreal Canadiens take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.

CANADIENS (28-26-5) at SABRES (24-28-5)

7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SNE, CITY, TVAS

Canadiens projected lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook — Owen Beck — Patrik Laine
Josh Anderson — Christian Dvorak — Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman — Jake Evans — Joel Armia

Mike Matheson — Alexandre Carrier
Lane Hutson — Jayden Struble
Arber Xhekaj — David Savard

Jakub Dobes
Sam Montembeault

Scratched: None

Injured: Kirby Dach (right knee), Kaiden Guhle (lacerated quadricep muscle), Michael Pezzetta (lower body)

Status report

The Canadiens did not conduct a morning skate Saturday. … Dach, a forward, had season-ending surgery Friday; he is expected to make a full recovery before the start of next season.

Latest for THW:

• NHL Rumours: Dach, Canadiens, Boeser, Canucks, Peterka
• Canadiens Prospect Beck Belongs on Second Line with Dach Injured
• Canadiens Defeat Sharks 4-3 for Third Straight Win

Sabres projected lineup

JJ Peterka — Ryan McLeod — Tage Thompson
Jordan Greenway — Dylan Cozens — Alex Tuch
Zach Benson — Jiri Kulich — Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn — Peyton Krebs

Bowen Byram — Rasmus Dahlin
Mattias Samuelsson — Owen Power
Jacob Bryson — Connor Clifton

Henri Jokiharju

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
James Reimer

Scratched: Sam Lafferty, Dennis Gilbert

Injured: Jason Zucker (lower body)

Status report

Zucker is progressing slowly from his injury; Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the forward is “just having trouble with his injury” that neither the team nor the player anticipated. … Buffalo could dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Latest for THW:

• Sabres Should Not Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline
• NHL Rumours: Dach, Canadiens, Boeser, Canucks, Peterka
• 3 Takeaways From Sabres’ 5-2 Loss to the Hurricanes