You can make a case for the Atlantic Division being the toughest of all divisions in the NHL. When you are a team on the rise like the Buffalo Sabres, life is never easy when you have to see the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs a few times every season.
In this three-part series, I'm going to give you a breakdown of how the Sabres did against their divisional foes. Last year, Buffalo went 12-12-2 against the teams within the division. In part one, here is how they fared against two Atlantic teams who are facing each other in the playoffs, the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Boston Bruins: 1-2-0
Yet again, it was another rough year in regards to facing the Bruins. After what some thought was going to be a "taking a step back" season from Boston, they went on to have a record of 47-20-15 and finished second in the Atlantic. The Bruins were one point back of the Florida Panthers, who ended up winning the division.
In Kyle Okposo's 1,000th career NHL game, the Sabres did not show any juice as they lost the first meeting back in November by a score of 5-2 which saw Buffalo losing 3-0 after the first period. The Sabres won 3-1 in Boston almost a month later before dropping the final matchup at home 4-1 after Christmas.
Toronto Maple Leafs: 2-1-1
Buffalo saw their heated rival the Toronto Maple Leafs four times in 2023/2024. As expected, the Maple Leafs had another good season with a record of 46-26-10 and finished third in the Atlantic. After taking the first game in Toronto, the Sabres blew out the Maple Leafs at home 9-3.
Toronto ended up taking the next two, one in overtime by a final score of 2-1, and the final matchup in Buffalo, winning that one 3-0.
Overall division record: 3-3-1
Against Boston and Toronto combined, the Sabres went 3-3-1. It's not terrible but if Buffalo wants to be serious in terms of making the playoffs, they're going to need to find a way to beat the Bruins more than once. Boston has had the Sabres number for the longest time, so hopefully, that trend will end soon.