Martin St-Louis makes key lineup decisions for Sabres game and doubles down on his defensive pairings

Renaud Lavoie reported the details ahead of tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, following head coach Martin St-Louis’ press conference.

According to the information obtained, there will be no changes to the forward lines or defensive pairings.

This decision confirms the availability of two players who had raised concerns after Thursday’s game.

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle will remain in his usual spot after briefly leaving the ice following a head hit from Josh Manson.

Center Phillip Danault, who required treatment on the bench after blocking a shot with his hand, is also cleared to play.

Both players finished the game against Colorado, but some uncertainty remained until this morning.

Beyond the injury updates, Martin St-Louis’ choice to keep the blue line intact highlights his growing confidence in the pairing of Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson.

The experiment began Thursday night against the Avalanche and paid off immediately.

Hutson quickly found chemistry with his new partner. Less than a minute into the game, Dobson opened the scoring after receiving a clean feed from Hutson.

There were questions about whether pairing two offensively gifted blueliners could lead to defensive lapses. So far, that hasn’t been the case. Dobson has shown the awareness to stay back when Hutson jumps into the rush, creating a simple rotation that has already forced opponents to adjust their forecheck.

Montreal’s dominant 7–3 win over Colorado reinforced the impact of the duo. The pairing controlled play and helped drive the Canadiens’ offense from the back end.

If this chemistry continues, Hutson and Dobson are positioning themselves as a potential cornerstone pairing on the Canadiens’ blue line.

Keeping the same defensive group also means Arber Xhekaj retains his spot on the third pairing, leaving Jayden Struble out of the lineup once again.

With the forward lines also unchanged, Martin St-Louis is clearly betting on continuity as the Canadiens look to build momentum.

Projected lineup for tonight:

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