Pirates need to take the training wheels off of Paul Skenes
Pittsburgh Pirates need to let Paul Skenes pitch more to maximize talent.

The Buffalo Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the NHL playoffs on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT. The Sabres are favored at -130 against the Canadiens, with an over/under of 5.5 goals.

Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (50-23-9, in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Sabres -130, Canadiens +109; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND: Sabres host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens to start the Eastern Conference second round. The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season. The teams tied the regular season series 2-2. In their last regular season meeting on Feb. 31, the Canadiens won 4-2.
Buffalo has a 20-7-5 record in Atlantic Division games and a 50-23-9 record overall. The Sabres have an 18-5-5 record in games they score one or more power-play goals.
Montreal has gone 48-24-10 overall with a 20-10-3 record against the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens are fifth in NHL play serving 10.4 penalty minutes per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Doan has scored 26 goals with 26 assists for the Sabres. Alex Tuch has seven goals and four assists over the past 10 games.
Nicholas Suzuki has 29 goals and 72 assists for the Canadiens. Josh Anderson has scored three goals with one assist over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 7-1-2, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.2 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game.
Canadiens: 5-3-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.6 assists, 5.6 penalties and 11.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Sabres: Noah Ostlund: out (lower body), : out for season (ear), : day to day (arm), : out for season (kneecap).
The game starts at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.
The Sabres are favored at -130, while the Canadiens have odds of +109.
The over/under for the game is set at 5.5 goals.
Pittsburgh Pirates need to let Paul Skenes pitch more to maximize talent.
Discover how Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu transformed from a bare-handed miner to the ONE Bantamweight Champion!

Guardiola potencia a Kovacic para el final de la temporada en la Premier League.
Embiid addresses collision with Bridges after Sixers fall to Knicks
Check out the latest Ohio high school softball Super 25 rankings for May 5!
Check out the latest Ohio high school baseball rankings from USA Today!
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.