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Sabres news: Sabres rumored to play in an outdoor game this season

By Jacob LeBlanc |
ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 01: An overhead view of the NHL Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1, 2008 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 01: An overhead view of the NHL Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1, 2008 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

As we get closer to hockey being back, we are starting to see a few more rumors surface about the upcoming season. The latest rumor surrounding the Buffalo Sabres is regarding their schedule for next season. Per Lance Hornby of torontosun.com, the Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to take part in an outdoor game this season.

The game is rumored to be taking place at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The game would likely be scheduled for March 13th, which is a day that the Leafs and Sabres are already scheduled to play each other at 3 pm at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. So if this game is switched to be played outdoors, then the Sabres will be losing a home game to play in Canada, something that I can’t imagine Sabres season ticket holders would be too pleased about.

Tim Hortons Field is the current home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadien Football League and Forge FC of the Canadien Premier League. The stadium is located about halfway between Buffalo and Toronto, so in theory, it is a good place to host a hockey game between these two rivals. But the Sabres potentially losing a home game to play in a different country seems a bit unfair to Buffalo and their fans.

This would be the third outdoor game that the Sabres have played in, and first against the Maple Leafs. Buffalo is 0-0-2 in outdoor games. They lost in a shootout to the Pittsburg Penguins in the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008, which was held at what was then called Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. More recently, Buffalo took on the New York Rangers in the 2018 Winter Classic which was held at Citi Field in Queens. Buffalo lost that game 3-2 in overtime.

Next. What would be considered a successful season for the Sabres?. dark

Hopefully, Buffalo can perform better in this outdoor game than they have in their previous two. The official announcement for this game is expected soon.

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