Nov 22, 2022: The Sabers of the Canadiens — 5 Things You Need to Know

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Here are five things to know about Tuesday’s game between the Canadiens (9-8-1) and the Buffalo Sabers (7-11-0) at Bell Center. (7pm, TSN2, NHLN, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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What difference does one year make: The Canadiens have won 9 of their first 18 games. Last season they didn’t get his ninth win until his 49th game. Bell improved his record to 9-33-7 in his 3-2 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues at his center on February 17. It was also Martin St. Louis’ first win as NHL head coach after taking over from Dominique Ducharme, after three straight losses.

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Suzuki’s Top 10? Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki ranks 13th in the NHL scoring race with a total of 11-12-23, just 2 points out of the top 10. He finished eighth with a total of 43-67-110.The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup that season. Suzuki scored two assists in Saturday’s 5-4 penalty shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers and has finished his nine-game multiplayer streak this season, including his four in his last five games. Points scored his game. Suzuki also scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout. Forward Mike Hoffman missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, while Joel Armia will miss three games after recovering from an upper-body injury.

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50 goal pace: Suzuki and Cole Corfield tied for first place with 11 goals each. He is the only player in the NHL to have scored more goals than the dynamic duo of the Canadiens, with his Edmonton Oilers’ Conor McDavid leading with his 16 goals. Suzuki and Caulfield are on pace to score his 50th goal, the first time a Canadiens player has done so since Stephen Richer scored his 51st in 1989-90. After scoring just one goal in 30 appearances under Ducharme’s head coaching last season, Caulfield has scored 33 goals in 55 appearances since St. Louis took over from the bench.

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Blue line help: Mike Matheson played his first regular season game for the Canadiens against Philadelphia on Saturday after recovering from an abdominal muscle strain he sustained during training camp. Recorded the most ice time of 23:57, scored a goal and earned a spot in the second power play unit. Matheson will be paired with Joel Edmundson, who has missed his first 10 games with a back injury, while David Savard and Kaiden will help ease the strain on his Goulet. Head coach Martin St. Louis said Matheson’s addition would create healthy competition among young defensemen Jordan Harris, Arbor Zekai and Jonathan Kovacevic to maintain their positions in the lineup. Harris was a healthy scratch to make room for Matheson against Philadelphia. With Harris back in the lineup with Chris Weidman as his partner, Zekai and Kovacevic will be a healthy scratch against the Sabers. Weidman has been a healthy scratch over the past six games.

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Slumping Saber: The Sabers got off to a good start to the season, going 4-1 in their first five games, but on Tuesday they went 38-19 after an eight-game losing streak. The Sabers have not qualified for the playoffs since the 2010-11 season. Tage Thompson led the Sabers with a 12-10-22 total, followed by Rasmus Darling (7-13-20) and Alex Touch (9-7-16). The Canadiens defeated the Sabers 3-2 in their first game of the season on October 27 in Buffalo.

scowan@postmedia.com

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