Jakub Dobes will face the Sabres tonight

Tonight, the Canadiens will face off against the Sabres in Buffalo. This will be the third matchup between the two clubs in two weeks, and it comes at a time when the Sabres are the hottest team in the NHL.

Tonight's game has suddenly become crucial in the race for the playoffs.

So, the question was who would be in goal for the Habs. Jakub Dobes won both of his games this week (and he was solid in doing so), so it made sense to think he would be Martin St-Louis's go-to guy.

And sure enough, Dobes was the first to leave the ice at noon today.

Everything indicates that he will be in goal tonight.

Jakub Dobeš is off the ice first in Buffalo. Should be starting tonight.

— Arpon Basu (@arponbasu.bsky.social) 2026-01-31T17:05:25.563Z

On the skating side, it's worth noting that the club will keep the same lineup as for Thursday's game against the Avalanche.

This is not exactly a surprise, given that this group has just won two games in a row against two of the league's powerhouses.

No changes (trios/duos) to the @CanadiensMTL @TVASports lineup.

— Renaud Lavoie (@RLavoieTVA) January 31, 2026

What's interesting is that we're really starting to understand that this lineup is St. Louis's lineup of choice. Samuel Blais will miss his seventh straight game, Joe Veleno will miss his fourth consecutive game, and Jayden Struble has only played twice since January 13.

There's no doubt that right now, the coach has his 18 trusted guys, and these three are not among them.

And in fact, he's right to stick with his winning formula at this level: all three lines are rolling well and the defense is solid right now.

It's understandable why there's no rush to activate Patrik Laine from the injured list… and as for Alex Newhook, it's stilltoo early to wonder who will be out of the lineup when he returns.

What will the return of Alex Newhook look like for the Canadiens roster?

Full Episode: https://t.co/ke1ASObGku

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— The Starr & D'Amico Show (@StarrandDamico) January 31, 2026

Overtime

– Alex Lyon will face the habs tonight.

Alex Lyon vs @CanadiensMTL @BuffaloSabres @TVASports

— Renaud Lavoie (@RLavoieTVA) January 31, 2026

– Linus Ullmark is back.

Linus Ullmark will play his first game since December 27!

All the details: https://t.co/Zo6Ms5a4Ai pic.twitter.com/hUD882ajUT

— RDS (@RDSca) January 31, 2026

– Kris Letang will be out for four weeks.He should be back shortly after the Olympic break.

Kris Letang is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks with a fracture in his foot. https://t.co/K90EnFeXUA

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) January 31, 2026