It’s go time for the Montreal Canadiens after losing the series opener to the Buffalo Sabres, and the two Atlantic Division foes go toe-to-toe at the KeyBank Center for Game 2 on Friday, May 8.
My top Canadiens vs. Sabres NHL players props and NHL picks have you covered for the action and are headlined by Montreal winger Ivan Demidov.
Best Canadiens vs Sabres props for Game 2
| Player | Pick |  |
|---|---|---|
 Ivan Demidov |
Over 0.5 points | -110 |
 Alex Lyon |
Over 2.5 goals against | +100 |
| Conor Timmins |
Over 1.5 blocked shots | +110 |
Game 2 Prop #1: Ivan Demidov Over 0.5 points
Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov was solid in Game 1, and we’re landing a good price on the uber-talented scorer to mark the scoresheet again tonight.
Demidov skated on a new-look line with Jake Evans and Alex Newhook at five-on-five in the series opener, and the trio paced the Habs in both Corsi For percentage (57.3%) and expected goals percentage (60.3%).
Perhaps, even more importantly, Demidov is a go-to puck distributor on the No. 1 power-play unit and has averaged 4:52 of ice time with the man advantage this postseason.
Game 2 Prop #2: Alex Lyon Over 2.5 goals against
Hats off to Alex Lyon for backstopping the Buffalo Sabres with an otherworldly .950 save percentage and 1.023 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes across six postseason starts because he’s staring statistical correction right in the eye.
After all, he posted respective .906 and 0.380 marks across 36 regular-season games.
The Canadiens were also incredibly resilient in Round 1 and bounced back with three or more goals following two of their three losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I also value the Habs continuing to push in Game 1 in the third period by posting a 64.7 CF% at 5-on-5 and overall 61.4 xGF%.
Game 2 Prop #3: Conor Timmins Over 1.5 blocked shots
Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins’ ice time has increased in five consecutive games, and most importantly, he’s jumping the boards with the No. 1 penalty-kill unit and paces the club in blocked shots while shorthanded.
The Montreal Canadiens are going to have a push back in Game 2, as well, so I’m anticipating the Habs funnelling more pucks to the net.
Montreal has also drawn 44 penalties across eight postseason games while averaging a healthy 6:11 of power-play time per game.
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