Maple Leafs at Sabres
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to wash away the memories from a disappointing outdoor game and end a three-game slide when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Monday for the first of four meetings over their last 15 contests. The Maple Leafs were dispatched by Washington 5-2 in a Stadium Series contest at the Naval Academy on Saturday and are 0-2-1 since their 13-2-0 stretch.
“(The Capitals) look at us and they still think we’re kids,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock told reporters of the team that knocked the Maple Leafs out last postseason. “And it looked like we were kids here (Saturday). I thought they smacked us around and forechecked. I didn’t think we executed at all.” Toronto likely will be without All-Star Auston Matthews (upper body) for the fifth straight game as they take on Buffalo, which has been showing some signs of life lately with three wins in its last five contests. The Eastern Conference-worst Sabres knocked off NHL-best Tampa Bay last week before ending a two-game trip to the Sunshine State with a 4-1 setback at Florida on Thursday. “It was a bit of a frustrating game, but they’re fighting for their playoff lives,” Buffalo's Kyle Okposo told reporters after the loss. “That would have been a good game to win for us. Those are barometer games.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TSN4 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (39-21-7): Matthews (28 goals, 50 points in 53 games) has been skating and could return to the lineup soon to help the league’s seventh-ranked offense (3.19 goals per game). Mitch Marner, who tops the team with 53 points, has been kept off the scoresheet in back-to-back games after recording three goals and four assists over his previous three contests. Frederik Andersen (32-17-5, .920 save percentage) has been one of the team’s best players but may be showing fatigue after allowing a total of 14 goals in his last four outings, including five on Saturday.
ABOUT THE SABRES (20-34-11): Leading scorer Jack Eichel (22 goals, 53 points) has been out since Feb. 10 with an ankle injury but could be practicing soon with the hopes of playing against the Maple Leafs this season. Ryan O’Reilly has notched an assist in each of his last three games and sits three points away from his fifth straight season - and sixth overall - with at least 50. Rasmus Ristolainen has registered four points in his last five games to push his season total to 31 while fellow defenseman Victor Antipin has recorded three of his nine assists in 2017-18 over his last three contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Maple Leafs, who won three of the five meetings last season, will face the Sabres four times over the next 29 days.
2. Toronto C Nazem Kadri has scored three goals in his last four games and needs one to reach 25 for the second straight campaign.
3. Buffalo D Marco Scandella suffered an upper-body injury at Florida and is questionable for Monday’s contest.