A second-round series in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs gets underway on Wednesday as the Buffalo Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens.
Series Preview
Buffalo (50-23-9) defeated Boston in six games in the first round for its first series win since 2007. Montreal (48-24-10) knocked off Tampa Bay in seven games in a series in which the teams alternated wins throughout.
This is the eighth postseason matchup between these franchises, with Montreal holding a 4-3 series edge.
Game Details
The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. These teams split their four regular-season matchups.
Betting Odds
Money Line: Sabres -136 | Canadiens +115
Over/Under: 5.5 goals
SportsLine Projection Model Prediction
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NHL game 10,000 times. The model entered the second round of the 2026 NHL playoffs with a +668 return on top-rated money-line NHL picks.
After simulating Canadiens vs. Sabres 10,000 times, the model is going Over on the total (5.5). Each of their four regular-season matchups had at least six total goals scored.
At least six goals have been scored in eight straight meetings between these teams, with an average of 7.3 combined goals over this span. The sims call for 5.9 combined goals, making the Over the value play.
Key Players
Jakub Dobes of Montreal ranks 29th in GAA, while Buffalo's Alex Lyon isn't much better at 28th. The model projects Cole Caufield and Tage Thompson to combine for 1.02 goals on average, while there are five others forecasted to have at least 0.30 goals.
Final Pick
SportsLine's model recommends taking the Over (5.5) in this matchup based on the high-scoring trend between these teams throughout the season and postseason.