Montreal Canadiens seek victory as they host the Buffalo Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens are all set to play host to the exciting Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. The game promises to be a hard fought contest, as both teams are anxious to put in a winning performance. This will be the fifth out of the six meetings scheduled
to take place between the two sides. The Canadiens have maintained a very impressive record against the Sabres.
Out of the four meetings they have comprehensively won the first three meetings, 2-1, 3-2 and 3-1 in regulation time. The most recent game between the two sides which took place on 18 January, 2011 saw the Sabres winning 2-1 in over-time.
Things are different both teams but the important things is the fact that a win for either of the teams could help them a great deal. The Canadiens will be looking to give their best and win the game to take the Northeast Division standing lead from the
Boston Bruins. After this game, they will be squaring off against the Calgary Flames in the 2011 Tim Hortons National Hockey League Heritage Classic this weekend.
The Sabres have not been in the best of forms, as they are looking for a win to keep their chance of getting into the play-offs alive. The Buffalo Sabres are just four points away from a play-off spot.
The Sabres have been able to come up with consistent wins, winning 12 games in regulation time, 4 games in overtime and losing just 2 games. The most talked about game in their recent run is the 7-6 loss they suffered at the hands of the New York Islanders.
The Sabres blew the lead three times, including a 4-2 lead they established early in the second period.
Goal-keeper Ryan Miller of the Sabres, who has played 31 consecutive games, was unhappy and felt frustrated over the fact that the team could not get past the 14th placed team in the Eastern Conference.
"You're going to have bad games, games that just don't go your way, and games where you can't do anything right but somehow you still win," Miller said. "I'm just going to shake it off and be a veteran player. It's a frustrating loss (Sunday), but looking
back on the stretch of games, we've done what we had to do as a team to get ourselves into a positive situation and we can't let last night turn into a negative."
The Sabres have played 54 games in the 2010-11 NHL season, winning 26 games in regulation time, 6 games in overtime and have scored 58 points. The Canadiens have scored 68 points, winning 31 games in regulation time and 6 games in overtime, having played
57 games during the season.
The Canadiens are in good shape ahead of the game, as they won their last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0. The good news for the Canadiens, is that Michael Cammalleri, despite being injured took part in practice and is hopeful of playing against
the Flames this Sunday.
The game promises to be an exciting physical and mental test, as both teams will fight it out for the win. As the play-offs are right around the corner, the teams will be looking to put in a good performance to carry the winning momentum further.
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