Our Sabres vs. Canadiens prediction for October 13 lands on a game the market has priced tight. Montreal is -155 on the moneyline at home. Buffalo sits back at +133 after a Monday night win. The total opened at 6.5 and has not moved off it. Both teams arrive with a negative goal differential and real questions in goal. Below is the full breakdown, the market read, and the two bets we like before puck drop at Bell Centre.
Last Updated: October 13, 2026
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens — Game Info
| Where | Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec |
| When | October 13 – 6:30 PM ET |
| TV | MSG, TSN2, RDS |
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens Betting Preview
Start in the crease, because neither team has settled it. Montreal lost Samuel Montembeault to a lower-body injury at practice on October 7. Jacob Fowler was recalled from Laval and has been excellent since. He has stopped 45 of 48 shots across two starts for a .938 save percentage and a 1.46 goals-against average. His last outing was a 30-save shutout against Detroit. Jakub Dobes is the other option, and he has struggled at .856 with a 4.43 goals-against average. Neither start is confirmed. Montreal also plays in Washington on Wednesday, so the Canadiens must cover two games in two nights.
Buffalo’s crease is messier. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the projected starter, though that is unconfirmed as well. He carries a .812 save percentage and a 3.66 goals-against average through four appearances. Colten Ellis started Monday against Florida and was pulled in the second period after allowing two goals on nine shots. Luukkonen finished that game in relief and played more than 33 minutes. Alex Lyon remains out with an upper-body injury, so there is no third option waiting.
The rest of the picture leans home. Buffalo is 3-3-0 and fifth in the Atlantic Division. Montreal is 2-2-1 and seventh. However, Buffalo is on the second half of a back-to-back and opening a three-game road trip after Monday’s win over Florida. Captain Rasmus Dahlin took a slap shot off his upper body in that game and did not return. He did not travel with the team, and Lindy Ruff called him day to day. Montreal has had two days off since beating Detroit, though the Canadiens remain 1-2-0 at home after an early-season loss to Carolina. These two also met in a seven-game second round last spring, and Montreal won Game 7 in overtime.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
| Puck Line | Moneyline | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabres | +1.5 (-195) | +133 | O 6.5 (-105) |
| Canadiens | -1.5 (+165) | -155 | U 6.5 (-115) |
Odds accurate as of October 13, 2026 via TheSpread.com. Odds change, get the latest NHL Odds – Futures – Props
Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens — Who Is the Public Betting?
| Sabres | 79% | 21% | Canadiens |
See the latest NHL Public Betting Splits and make smarter wagers!
Sabres vs. Canadiens Prediction — When a 5.9 Percent Power Play Meets a 60 Percent Kill
Special teams shape this one, and the numbers are ugly at both ends. Montreal has one power play goal on 17 chances, a 5.88 percent rate that ranks last in the NHL. Buffalo’s penalty kill is nearly as bad at 60 percent, having allowed eight power play goals in six games. That kill ranks 30th. Normally that pairing points straight at goals. Here it largely cancels out. Buffalo’s single biggest leak runs into the one power play least equipped to punish it.
Strip the special teams out and the picture shifts. Buffalo has conceded 14 goals at non-power-play strength in six games, or 2.33 per night. Montreal has conceded 14 in five, or 2.80. Buffalo is also a far better defensive team than its scoreboard suggests. The Sabres allow 21.5 shots per game, second fewest in the league. Their trouble has been save percentage, not structure. Montreal, meanwhile, has scored 14 goals in five games and is out-shot by nearly two per night.
The counter sits right back in the crease. Luukkonen at .812 and Dobes at .856 are save percentages that turn any game into a track meet. If Buffalo leans on a tired goalie and he leaks again, the structural work stops mattering. Empty-net goals cut the same way, since a trailing team pulling its goalie late routinely adds one. The market has already drifted this direction. The juice moved a nickel since the open while the number itself held at 6.5, so the best of it is gone. The read still holds at the current price.
The Pick: Under 6.5 (-115)
Sabres vs. Canadiens Prediction — Who Carries Buffalo Without Rasmus Dahlin?
Dahlin’s absence reshapes how Buffalo attacks. He had two goals and two assists in six games and ran the top power play unit. Without him, more of that load falls on Tage Thompson. Thompson already leads the Sabres with 30 shots in six games, twice the total of any other Buffalo forward. He has four goals and seven points while averaging better than 19 minutes a night. Montreal allows 28.2 shots per game, 21st in the league, so the volume should be available.
The caution is that Thompson’s current rate sits well above his own history. He averaged 3.36 shots per game across 81 games last season and has never finished a full year above 3.78. Six games is a small sample. He also managed just one shot on Monday in under 18 minutes, and a second night in two days with travel can trim both ice time and attempts. Still, his game log before that reads four, four, nine, six and six. His role is about to grow rather than shrink.
The Pick: Tage Thompson 4+ Shots on Target (+130)
Our Final Word on Sabres vs. Canadiens
The side markets look priced about right, which is why neither pick is on a team. Montreal at -155 implies a 60.8 percent win rate, and rest, home ice and Dahlin’s absence roughly account for that. The puck line is the more interesting read. Buffalo is drawing 79 percent of puck line tickets at +1.5, yet that number has not budged since it opened. A freeze like that usually hints the other way. However, a Montreal side with one regulation win in five games and no regulation home win is hard to lay a goal and a half with. We pass rather than force it.
One note on how the two picks sit together. A heavy individual shot count does not require a high-scoring game. Buffalo can funnel chances through one shooter and still play a low-event night.
Our strongest play is the game total staying under 6.5 at -115, because the league’s worst power play meets a 60 percent penalty kill and neutralizes the biggest scoring driver on the board. Behind it, Tage Thompson at 4+ shots on target at +130 earns the price because Buffalo’s attack already runs through him and Dahlin’s absence only widens that role.
NHL Sabres vs. Canadiens FAQ: October 13, 2026
What time does the Sabres vs. Canadiens game start?
The Sabres and Canadiens drop the puck at 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. It is one of the earlier starts on a full 16-game slate. The two teams then meet again in Montreal on Saturday, October 17, so this is the first half of a quick pair.
What channel is the Sabres vs. Canadiens game on?
MSG carries the game in the Buffalo market, while TSN2 has the English broadcast in Canada and RDS carries the French call. There is no United States national network window for this matchup, so regional coverage is the way in for most viewers.
Where are the Sabres and Canadiens playing?
The game is at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. It is Montreal’s fourth home game of the season, and the Canadiens are 1-2-0 there so far. For Buffalo it is the opening stop on a three-game road trip that also brings the Sabres back to Bell Centre on Saturday.
What are the Sabres and Canadiens records this season?
Buffalo is 3-3-0 with six points after beating Florida 5-3 on Monday. Montreal is 2-2-1 with five points and is coming off a 1-0 shootout win over Detroit on October 10. Both teams carry a negative goal differential through the opening two weeks of the season.
Who won the last meeting between the Sabres and Canadiens?
Montreal won the last meeting 3-2 in overtime on May 18, 2026, taking Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round in Buffalo. Alex Newhook scored the winner. The Canadiens went on to reach the Eastern Conference Final, where they lost to Carolina.
Where do the Sabres and Canadiens stand in the standings?
Buffalo sits fifth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference with six points. Montreal is seventh in the Atlantic and 11th in the East with five points. Ottawa leads the division with 10 points, and Detroit trails the group with three.