Matt Murray will start his first NHL game since April of 2023 as the Maple Leafs visit their home away from home for a split-crowd showdown against the badly slumping Buffalo Sabres, who are losers of 11 straight games (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).
Game Day Quotes
Morgan Rielly on the challenge he expects from the Sabres tonight:
When a team is desperate, they are dangerous. They are trying to find their game and get going.
It is on us to be prepared for a team that is going to come hard. We expect them to play extremely hard, be extremely structured, and be very competitive.
We’ll be ready to go.
Mitch Marner on the split-crowd atmosphere inside the KeyBank Center:
It’s a really cool moment. It really is.
I also think we get more fans especially when the Bills are playing at home on Sunday. A lot of Toronto people and Ontario people are fans of the Bills as well, so they come for the 2-for-1.
It is always fun to play in this building in front of both fan bases that get really loud at each other.
Craig Berube on the need not to underestimate the Sabres:
It is going to be a hard game. You can look at the (6-1) Montreal score all you want, and Montreal scored some power play goals on them, but they played extremely hard against Montreal. They were pretty good in that game, to be honest with you.
They have Dahlin back tonight. He is a handful.
It will be a good atmosphere. It will be a good game and a very competitive game. Our guys have to be ready to go from the drop of the puck. We have to be competitive right away, and we have to play north hockey right away.
This is a very good team talent-wise. If you turn pucks over and you are not checking properly, they can do some damage.
Berube on Matt Murray fighting his way back from a major surgery to return to the NHL:
He is a dedicated guy. He has won two Cups and done it all, but he still has a lot left in the tank. He wants to continue playing. It takes a lot of hard work.
It takes a lot of hard work, and he has already accomplished the ultimate goal a couple of times, but he has a lot of fire inside and wants to get back to the form he had once.
Lindy Ruff on the charged atmosphere full of Leafs fans in Buffalo:
If we play well, we can take the fans out of the game.
Ruff on meeting with the leaders on the team as the losing slide hits 11 games:
We met again today, and I said, “It’s you guys — this group of five or six — who I have been around more than the Kulichs and the Bensons and those types of guys. It’s you guys that I’m handing the puck off to. You’re the guys that have to be the difference makers.”
Ruff on the return of Rasmus Dahlin to the Sabres’ lineup:
I think any time you get a player of his caliber back, it’ll be a big boost to the team. First, there is getting pucks out of your end and the speed going back for pucks, and then he’s a difference-maker with big plays.
Rasmus Dahlin on the team’s mindset after 11 straight losses:
Honestly, I think the best thing is to put it behind us. Everyone has got to put it behind them. You can’t control what’s been done.
All we have to do now is move forward. We have to start on a new page and build.
We are a good team. This is not who we are. I’m excited for the challenge. Hopefully, we can do something really, really good and start the new page. Anything can happen.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (20-10-2) vs. Sabres (11-17-4)
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
#29 Pontus Holmberg — #64 David Kampf — #18 Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #25 Conor Timmins
#2 Simon Benoit — #22 Jake McCabe
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Matt Murray
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Ryan Reaves, Connor Dewar, Philippe Myers
Injured (IR): Jani Hakanpää, Anthony Stolarz
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lines
Forwards
#17 Jason Zucker — #72 Tage Thompson — #89 Alex Tuch
#77 JJ Peterka — #24 Dylan Cozens — #22 Jack Quinn
#19 Peyton Krebs — #20 Jiri Kulich — #9 Zach Benson
#29 Beck Malenstyn — #81 Sam Lafferty — #96 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
#26 Rasmus Dahlin — #4 Bowen Byram
#23 Mattias Samuelsson — #25 Owen Power
#8 Dennis Gilbert — #75 Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
Starter: #1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
#34 James Reimer
Injured: Jordan Greenway, Ryan McLeod*
*game-time decision
