Preview: Leafs Rookies Eye Record Against Sabres

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to do battle at the Air Canada Centre when the Buffalo Sabres come into town on Saturday and will be looking to pick up two big points in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Leafs could be looking at a new franchise mark when their young guns hit the ice as they’ve combined for 206 total points this season. There’s no other team that comes even close to matching that, but with one point they will match the franchise record for combined points by rookies. Obviously, two points by the team’s first-year players will set a new team record.

Mitch Marner leads the way with 46 points this season, while Auston Matthews is following him up with 44 of his own. William Nylander (36), Nikita Zaitsev (24) and Connor Brown (23) are also having very good seasons for the Leafs.

The Sabres will likely be sellers at the deadline, but expect them to hold onto their core players. Jack Eichel has 26 points this season in 33 games played after starting the year on injured reserve. While the Sabres aren’t having as much success this season as the Leafs, Kyle Okposo has had a good first season with Buffalo. He’s played all 53 games this year with 35 points to show for it.

While anything can happen when these two teams meet, numbers from this season are playing into favour with the Leafs. But in the battle of the Q.E.W., numbers don’t mean much.


Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs

Air Canada Centre – 7:00 p.m. EST

Broadcast channels – CBC and MSG-B

2016-17 Season Series:
November 3 – Maple Leafs 2 – Sabres 1
January 17 – Maple Leafs 4 – Sabres 3

Buffalo Sabres – 22-22-10 – 54 Points

Road Record: 9-13-6

Hot Players: Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Ennis and Jack Eichel

Key Injuries: Zach Bogosian, William Carrier, Cody Franson, Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Justin Bailey-Ryan O’Reilly-Kyle Okposo

Evander Kane-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart

Marcus Foligno-Evan Rodrigues-Brian Gionta

Matt Moulson-Derek Grant-Tyler Ennis

Defense

Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen

Josh Gorges-Dmitry Kulikov

Justin Falk-Taylor Fedun

Goaltender

Robin Lehner

Toronto Maple Leafs – 25-17-11 – 61 Points

Home Record: 13-8-4

Hot Players: Mitch Marner, Nazem Kadri and Auston Matthews

Key Injuries: Joffrey Lupul and Nikita Soshnikov

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Leo Komarov-Nazem Kadri-William Nylander

James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak-Mitch Marner

Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-Connor Brown

Matt Martin-Ben Smith-Josh Leivo

Defense

Morgan Rielly-Nikita Zaitsev

Jake Gardiner-Connor Carrick

Matt Hunwick-Roman Polak

Goaltender

Frederik Andersen


Game Notes

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap]Saturday’s game will be the third meeting of the season between the Leafs and Sabres. The Leafs have taken the first two games by a combined score of 6-4. Marner’s led the way for the Leafs against Buffalo this season with two goals and an assist so far.

Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL
Marner leads the NHL in rookie scoring and has been the hottest Leaf as of late. (Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap]Speaking of Marner, the 19-year-old has three goals and seven points in his last six games. He currently leads his team in assists (32) and points (46) – just two points higher than Matthews.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap]The Leafs and Sabres have met 203 times over their existence. Buffalo holds the advantage in the all-time series 111-66-18-8, outscoring the Leafs 726 to 565.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]4)[/miptheme_dropcap]Tyler Ennis sits just one goal behind Michael Peca (96) for 32nd on the Sabres all-time list. So far this season, Ennis has just three goals and seven points in 23 games.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]5)[/miptheme_dropcap]The Leafs rookies have the chance to set yet another record on Saturday and all it will take is two point. The rookies have combined for 206 points so far this season. The franchise record was set back in 1982-83 when Leafs’ rookies combined for 207.

Another major divisional matchup – with most of the Eastern Conference still within reach of the playoffs – both the Leafs and Sabres will be looking to lock up two more points. The Leafs have a chance to make ground on the Senators and steer further away from the Bruins. The Sabres, who are a long shot to taste playoff glory, will just look to keep their chances alive.