Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/14/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, May 14, 2026

Venue:  KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

Where to Watch:  TNT, HBO Max, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +102, Sabres -122; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +100, Sabres -120; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Canadiens +100, Sabres -120; Over/Under:  6 goals

Montreal Canadiens:  48-24-10 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

Buffalo Sabres:  50-23-9 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Montreal Canadiens:  5-3-2 last 10

Buffalo Sabres:  6-3-1 last 10

The Canadiens are entering the playoffs with 106 points, a 48-24-10 record overall, and they were 24-9-8 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, losing that one at home 3-2. Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Juraj Slafkovský, and Lane Hutson each led the team in assists with 1 while Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovský each led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Jakub Dobeš was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 22 shots with 19 saves and a .864 save percentage. Their offense has scored 283 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 256 goals against them allowing 3.1 goals per game.

The Sabres are entering the playoffs with 109 points, a 50-23-9 record overall, and they were 26-10-5 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Montreal Canadiens in their last game, winning that one on the road 3-2. Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelsson each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Josh Doan led the team in assists with 2 while Alex Tuch led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 30 shots with 28 saves and a .933 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 288 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 241 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Sabres listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Sabres have looked great in their games this season with their 50-23-9 record overall which had them right at the top of their division in the East with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-10-5 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have looked good in their games this season with their 48-24-10 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the East. They have also been a great road team with their 24-9-8 road record this year. This is game 5 of a 7-game series between the 1st seeded Sabres and the 3rd seeded Canadiens from the Atlantic Division for the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs. This series is all evened up 2-2 after the Sabres won game 4 by a score of 3-2. The Sabres had a really strong start to this series at home and took the 1st game in this series with a win which they were the better team from start to finish, but they got completely outplayed in the next 2 games and lost 2 in a row. They made a goaltending change for game 4 though, going back to Luukkonen who started the playoffs for them, and they tightened things up defensively to get the win. Now the Sabres have the momentum in this series back on their side and the home advantage back in their favor. The Canadiens have looked good in their road games so far, but the Sabres did have one of the best home records in the NHL this season. The Canadiens have also been really up and down in the playoffs and their offense hasn't been finding the net a lot either, so the Sabres should be able to edge them out at home with the goaltending change giving them an advantage now too. The best way to place a bet here is on the sabres to win this game. 

Canadiens Sabres Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, May 14, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Sabres 3 Canadiens 2.

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Montreal Canadiens: 124-137 (+9.2 units) on the moneyline in all games. 93-98 (+10.3 units) on the moneyline against poor power play killing teams - opp score on over 17.5% of chances. 31-34 (+15.6 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 22-13 OVER after 1 or more consecutive losses.

Buffalo Sabres: 42-32 (-4.8 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite. 39-33 (-6 units) on the moneyline at home against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game. 29-15 OVER at home when the money line is -100 to -150. 23-16 OVER against poor offensive teams - averaging 26.5 shots on goal per game or less.

Montreal Canadiens:  P. Laine (RW) Out - Abdomen.

Buffalo Sabres:  N. Ostlund (C) Out - Lower Body. J. Kulich (C) Out For Season - Ear. J. Danforth (RW) Out For Season - Kneecap.

“Special teams played a huge part. It’s hard to believe that we only got one goal on the power play because I felt like we had a lot of chances. You’ve got to tip your cap to the goalie, he played a good game.” - Martin St Louis after his team’s loss against the Sabres in the 4th game of this series on Tuesday. 

“We were too loose — I thought tonight we tightened things up. We finally got to the place where we need to be. It looked like our team again, from the way we started the game to the way we finished the game.” - Lindy Ruff after his team’s win against the Canadiens in game 4 of this series on Tuesday. 

LW Cole Caufield

C Nick Suzuki

RW Juraj Slafkovský

LD Mike Matheson

RD Alexandre Carrier

G Jakub Dobes

LW Peyton Krebs

C Tage Thompson

RW Alex Tuch

LD Rasmus Dahlin

RD Mattias Samuelsson

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Points: Nick Suzuki (101)

Goals: Cole Caufield (51)

Assists: Nick Suzuki (72)

GAA: Jacob Fowler (2.43)

Points: Tage Thompson (81)

Goals: Tage Thompson (40)

Assists: Rasmus Dahlin (55)

GAA: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2.52)

Coaches:

Montreal Canadiens: Martin St. Louis (5th season)

Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff (2nd season)