NHL: Canadiens, Sabres Both Desperate For Victory

The Buffalo Sabres just had the taste slapped out of their mouths Thursday night in Philadelphia as the Flyers demolished them 7-2. Now they have to take on a Montreal Canadiens team that thinks they can sniff the faintest whiff of playoff blood.

Certainly the trials of this Habs team are well-documented. Cohesion and championships used to be the hallmarks of this storied franchise; now, internal discord and play that’s been mediocre at best have been the stories this season. With the brouhaha over the promotion of the unilingual Randy Cunneyworth as the head coach, to a fight in practice, this is one unhappy squad not enjoying the harsh spotlight in a hockey-mad city.

Despite the dissension, goaltender Carey Price believes the playoffs are still a possibility for the Canadiens, but you have to wonder how realistic that assessment is. It’s no empty-netter to assume that Montreal will take advantage of a Buffalo team that seems ripe for a two-point picking, resulting in a tough choice for NHL bettors.

For one thing, the Habs haven’t exactly set the NHL on fire with their scoring prowess, averaging 2.67 goals per game while letting in 2.72. For another, they’re below .500 at home and on the road, and they’re an ordinary 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.

On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine this Buffalo squad as being anything other than thoroughly demoralized after the shellacking they had to endure at the Wells Fargo Center. They went up 2-0 after the first period, only to cough up seven unanswered goals in the next two periods. Ouch.

They also need firepower, and one rumor has goalie Ryan Miller moving to the Chicago Blackhawks for winger Patrick Kane; you can imagine how thrilled the cabdrivers in the area must be with the prospect of that trade. It would also mean that Jhonas Enroth would become their top puck-stopper, and that must also be an eerie thought for the team’s fan base.

Whether the Sabres get some fresh legs or they decide to stand pat, their backs are against the wall. Just about the only road to redemption for them is to start at home and beat the Canadiens in convincing fashion. Any more humiliating defeats and we should expect to see some decisive fallout sooner rather than later in the City of Good Neighbors.