The Buffalo Sabres will be playing the Toronto Maples Leafs in tonight’s tilt. It is the first regular season game to be played against one another since the summer bidding war for coach Mike Babcock. With the Leafs in a rebuilding phase and the Sabres looking to be on the upswing, the rivalry is bound to be reignited tonight with some new dirt to hash out. Phil Kessel is no longer playing for the Leafs so the Sabres will need to find a new player to pick on (besides the Leafs goaltending of course).
Related – Sabres Ennis Needs To Simplify His Game
The Buffalo Sabres have been on a bit of a skid as far as scoring goals goes, but I expect them to break out of that funk tonight. The Maple Leafs seem to have found some stability in their game under Mike Babcock, but I still believe that the Sabres can take advantage of the shaky goaltending situation in Toronto.
More from Sabres News
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects
Maple Leafs Scope
The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling along the bottom of the standings. Their goal scoring is not terrible, but they are still working through their main issue; goaltending. James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier have split the ice time so far and neither has played very well. Both of them have below average goalie stats (Bernier’s SV% is the best at .900) and Reimer has the lone win on the Leaf’s record.
Their goal scoring threats are as expected with Leo Komarov (3) and James Van Riemsdyk (2) being the leading goal scorers. If the Buffalo Sabres defense can contain the scoring threats on the top line, the Maple Leafs may struggle with goals getting scored.
They cannot forget, however, the skills that is possessed by the Leaf’s blue line. Dion Phaneuf and Morgan Reilly have dangerous point shots in there arsenal and are yet to crack the goal scoring sheet, so they too will need to be contained.
Sabres Scope
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off of a hard fought loss to the Florida Panthers. For the majority of the game they controlled the play, but they just could not finish their chances well enough to win. Tonight, they need to focus on getting to the net and throwing the Toronto goaltenders off kilter. The more shots there are, and the higher the pressure, the more likely Reimer and Bernier are to crack.
The Buffalo Sabres are still looking for some consistent offensive play. The Sabres top line now features Sam Reinhart and he will be looking to continue to make a good impression while adding to the offense.
Back in the preseason, the Sabres lit up the Leafs and Jack Eichel was a shining star. He will be the Sabres biggest key to this game. He is still a new face in the league but he knows how to score goals very well. Jack possesses the kind of speed that many of the Leafs players cannot match and since he plays on the second line he may have even more chances to put up points tonight.
I’ll predict a Sabres win tonight by the score of 5-2. Johnson will falter a couple times, but I expect the Sabres offense to be rejuvenated and rolling after their short weekend break.
Next: Ristolainen Emerging As Top Sabres Defender
More from Sabre Noise
- 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
- 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
- Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
- Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
- Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects