The Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres meet Thursday in NHL action from the KeyBank Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres prediction.
Montreal Canadiens Recap
The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to bounce back from their loss at the hands of the Sabres last time out by a final score of 3-2 to tie the series up at two wins apiece.
Canadiens Looking To Restore Series Lead
Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 101 points including 29 goals and 72 assists while Cole Caufield has 88 points with a team-high 51 goals and 37 assists. Lane Hutson has 78 points with 66 assists while Ivan Demidov has 62 points with 19 goals and 43 assists. Noah Dobson has 47 points with 35 assists and Mike Matheson has 37 points with 7 goals and 30 assists. Oliver Kapanen has 37 points with 22 goals and 15 assists while Zack Bolduc has 30 points with 12 goals and 18 assists. Juraj Slafkovsky also has 73 points with 30 goals and 43 assists. Sam Montembault has gone 10-8-4 with a 3.43 GAA and an .872 save percentage in goal for the Canadiens while Jakub Dobes is 29-10-4 with a 2.78 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Jacob Fowler is also 8-6-2 with a 2.52 GAA and an .904 save percentage for the Habs this season.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to add on to their win over Montreal from game four to get back into the series and restore home ice.
Sabres Looking To Push Habs To Brink
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 81 points coming on a team-high 40 goals and 41 assists while Alex Tuch has 66 points with 33 goals and 33 assists and Rasmus Dahlin has 74 points with a team-high 55 assists. Josh Doan has 52 points with 25 goals and 27 assists and Ryan McLeod has 54 points with 14 goals and 40 assists. Bowen Byram has 42 points with 11 goals and 31 assists while Jack Quinn’s added 51 points with 20 goals and 31 assists this season. Alex Lyon has gone 20-10-4 with a 2.77 GAA and a .907 save percentage in goal for Buffalo while Colten Ellis is 8-4-2 with a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage so far this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has gone 22-9-3 with a 2.52 GAA and a .910 save percentage up to this point in the year.
Montreal Canadiens @ Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends: May 14, 2026
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
- The Sabres have won 13 of their last 15 night games at KeyBank Center following a road win.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in 14 of their last 17 night games at KeyBank Center following a road win.
- The Sabres have won the third period in eight of their last nine games when leading after the second period.
Why the Montreal Canadiens will win
- The Canadiens have won each of their last nine games as underdogs following a loss.
- The Sabres have lost three of their last four games as home favorites.
- The Canadiens have covered the puck line in each of their last 17 games as road underdogs following a loss.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in 11 of their last 12 games as home favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Canadiens have won the second period in eight of their last nine games as underdogs when trailing after the first period.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Canadiens’ last five road games against the Sabres following a home loss have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Sabres’ last six Thursday games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Ten of the last 11 Thursday night games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last nine games as favorites against the Canadiens.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Canadiens’ last seven road games against the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts
- Josh Doan has recorded at least one assist in each of the Sabres’ last five games.
- Tage Thompson has scored five goals against the Canadiens this season – most against any opponent.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Alex Newhook has scored at least one goal in four of the Canadiens’ last five games.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded at least one assist in each of the Canadiens’ last seven Thursday games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Cole Caufield ranks 1st in the league for Game Winning Goals (12) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Buffalo Sabres rank 4th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (81.90%).
- The Buffalo Sabres rank 5th in the league for goals per game this season (3.45).
- The Montreal Canadiens rank 7th in the league for goals per game this season (3.40).
- The Montreal Canadiens are one of only two teams to win 30+ games when tied or trailing after Period 1 this season.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Prediction
I’m on Montreal in this one. This Montreal team was hot offensively down the stretch, especially on the road and this is also a Canadiens team that rarely dropped back-to-back games and I think the Canadiens get the job done here to restore their series lead. Give me Montreal in this one.