Buffalo Sabres Pre-Game Skate: Toronto Maple Leafs

Speaking fairly, the Buffalo Sabres haven’t done much of anything this season. They brought a little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel this past Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, a team we have typically done pretty well against.

Sep 26, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres goalie

Michal Neuvirth

(34) takes a drink during the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at First Niagara Center. Leafs beat the Sabres 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Their next focus, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing each other this past pre-season, the teams split the series, 1-1, in a 6-4 loss followed by a 3-2 shootout win.

In tonights trap game for Toronto, we can focus on Buffalo sticking to whatever worked Saturday afternoon to hopefully pull off a two-game road win streak. In the first of four match-ups this season, this being the fourth away game in this road stretch, is the longest streak since January.

In the past 10 games against the Maple Leafs, Buffalo has fared decently against the Leafs, going 5-2-3 in that frame. Buffalo looks to fare better on the road, which have gone 1-7-2 on the road against the Leafs in the past 10 games in the Air Canada Centre.

Michal Neuvirth will be the starter tonight for Buffalo, hoping to continue his streak from last game, while trying to rip starting numbers from Jhonas Enroth.

Take the amount of games that we have played this season, subtract that by one and that is the number of games that Nikita Zadorov has been scratched. In his one game he has dressed, he was carried on as the seventh defenseman, so he saw little ice time.

Is it time that Zadorov gets the move? Should he be wasting away time being scratched game after game, when he could be exploding in the OHL with London? The choice is ultimately up to Ted Nolan and Tim Murray, what to do and when to do, but the clock is ticking.

Though, he does still have nine games before he has to get sent down, since those scratches don’t count against his time here, unlike Samson Reinhart.

With Reinhart, the window gets smaller with each game. Currently with seven games under his belt, that leaves him with three games left. Yay simple math, take that Common Core!

But for real, Reinhart has seven games and one assist on his resume, but has he had a fair chance at success? If Buffalo has the opportunity to “tank,” no matter if you think it’s possible, and take the first overall (cough McDavid cough), is Reinhart being up here this season really the answer? Again, Ted Nolan, what is your plan?

Reinhart being here and on the fourth line isn’t really contributing to grooming a fresh, new talent that Buffalo took second overall, in hopes to reverse the curse that Buffalo has been plagued with for years now.

Hopefully, tonight spurs something within this locker room, other than Twitter pics from the equipment manager. I mean, this is the first regular season game for Josh Gorges since his shunning of the Leafs this past summer.

Tune in tonight for the game! Then come right back here for all your post-game needs!