In the second half of a back-to-back for both teams, the Maple Leafs are looking to avoid a trap game against the deeply slumping Buffalo Sabres, who haven’t won a game since November 23rd (5:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on the challenge presented by the Sabres despite their nine losses in a row:
They are very desperate, and they have great talent over there. We all know that. They are a very good team off the rush, too, so it will be important that we clean that up as quickly as possible today.
Jake McCabe on the Sabres:
They can skate, and they can score. It is a dangerous team offensively. They have some guys who can shoot the puck over there with [Tage Thompson] and a good power play. We need to stay out of the box and get off to a good start. More of the focus is on our game, frankly.
McCabe on the threat posed by the Sabres’ offense and active defensemen:
On the forecheck, as defensemen, we have to be aware of their forwards jumping by and hopping up into the rush. Detroit did a good job of that last night, too. It’s about making sure you are above and not really taking a breath. They can skate and like to join.
You have to be aware of them joining late in the rush and the turn-ups. We have to keep our heads on a swivel, and as defensemen, we can kind of bark out orders, too, if we see them on the rush.
Berube on the areas for improvement defensively after last night’s 4-2 loss in Detroit:
Rush defense. Even in the Anaheim game, we gave up a few rush chances in the first period, and last night, we got scored on twice on it. We have to clean it up.
It starts in the offensive zone for me with reloads, more urgency by our forwards, and reading the rush better coming out of our zone. We can’t give up two goals off the rush. We have to be better there.
Berube on Bobby McMann’s return to the lineup in Detroit:
He was really good, I thought. He really skated well, shot the puck, and attacked. It was good to see.
Offensively, we had a lot of good lucks. We just have to bear down and bury them. We missed the net on shots at times.
We did a good job of creating looks. We were at the net, which was good to see. We got a goal being at the net. We just have to stick with it.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (18-10-2) vs. Sabres (11-15-4)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Buffalo holds the advantage in four out of five offensive categories, but Toronto holds the advantage in three out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies — #34 Auston Matthews — #16 Mitch Marner
#67 Max Pacioretty — #91 John Tavares — #88 William Nylander
#74 Bobby McMann — #11 Max Domi — #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz — #24 Connor Dewar — #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Dennis Hildeby
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Pontus Holmberg, Fraser Minten, Conor Timmins
Injured (IR): Jani Hakanpää, Anthony Stolarz
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Zach Benson — #72 Tage Thompson — #89 Alex Tuch
#77 JJ Peterka — #24 Dylan Cozens — #22 Jack Quinn
#12 Jordan Greenway — #20 Jiri Kulich — #17 Jason Zucker
#29 Beck Malenstyn — #19 Peyton Krebs — #71 Ryan McLeod
Defensemen
#25 Owen Power — #23 Mattias Samuelsson
#4 Bowen Byran — #10 Henri Jokiharju
#8 Dennis Gilbert — #78 Jacob Bryson
Goaltenders
Starter: #27 Devon Levi
#1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Injured: Rasmus Dahlin, Sam Lafferty
