What to know about each of the Buffalo Sabres rivals: Part II

The 2023-24 NHL season kicks off tonight, but the Buffalo Sabres have two division rivals listed below whose respective seasons start tomorrow.

In Part I, we covered the three teams in the Atlantic that the Buffalo Sabres would be squaring off against first. Today, we’re talking about two more teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.

Both aforementioned teams listed below could be Top 3 squads in the Atlantic, and they will give the Sabres trouble. However, the Bruins have taken a definite step back and the Maple Leafs have quite a few new additions. Therefore, both groups could take some time to build chemistry early, which may cause some struggles in October and November vs. some of the league’s more talented teams.

What to know about the Buffalo Sabres rivals: Part II

Toronto Maple Leafs

For the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s all about whether they provided enough of a supporting cast around Austin Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares. They brought in quite a few newcomers like Tyler Bertuzzi and John Klingberg, which could tip the scales closer to Cup contention. TJ Brodie (acquired in 2020-21) and Jake McCabe (acquired last year) will provide more help on the blue line, and it should round out a balanced look for Toronto.

Goaltending is a mystery for the Leafs, with Ilya Samsonov returning as the main man in the net. Last season, he was amazing, finishing 27-10-5, with a 2.33 GAA, and a 0.919 save percentage. However, he was up-and-down during his time with the Washington Capitals, so we will see if inconsistencies strike this season.

Other question marks surrounding the Leafs are obvious: Can the new additions elevate their game? We know John Klingberg has been a good player in this league, and ditto for Bertuzzi. But they have also underperformed for stretches. They also added Max Domi and Ryan Reaves, but neither jump out at you as major improvements.

Boston Bruins

Perhaps more questions surround the Boston Bruins, given the losses of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall, among others. Therefore, Boston must find a way to compensate for those losses, but even without the stellar defensive forward Bergeron was, they’re still stacked defensively.

Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are among the best blueliners in the league, and we also can’t forget about the dynamic goaltending tandem that is Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. Ullmark was the best goaltender in hockey last season, winning the Vezina and sharing the Jennings Trophy with Swayman, and both are young enough to be an effective tandem for a while.

Brad Marchand also plays a remarkable two-way game, and he remains a prolific scorer. David Pastrnak is the team’s top scorer, and Jake DeBrusk could be due for a big year as well.

Despite the fact that Boston still has more than its fair share of strengths in their top lines, pairings, and in the crease, issues arise in the middle and lower portions of the lineup. Therefore, if injuries strike the Bruins, then this group will face more than their fair share of challenges.

Overall, the Buffalo Sabres could have their work cut out for them when they play Boston and Toronto. However, there are question marks regarding both teams – and they both point to whether there is enough talent down the lineup for these two teams to make legitimate runs for the Cup.

Source: NHL season previews 2023-24: Counting down the teams from worst to first by by Sean Gentille, Shayna Goldman, and Dom Luszczyszyn.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)