Maple Leafs at Sabres
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres are bringing up the rear in the Atlantic Division and the only thing keeping both teams from being winless is the league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs will try to halt a five-game losing streak in Buffalo on Wednesday in the third stop of a four-game road trip that will conclude Saturday in Montreal.
The Sabres dropped a pair of one-goal decisions during their two-game trek to Florida and once again a punchless offense was the main culprit. Saturday's 2-1 setback at Tampa Bay marked the third time in five games that Buffalo has been limited to one goal. Toronto is also coming off a 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh, the third time the club has scored one goal or fewer. The Maple Leafs did show signs of an offensive spark in their previous two games, scoring a combined 10 goals versus Columbus and Ottawa.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN (Toronto), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (1-3-1): Center Tyler Bozak was not as practice Tuesday and is expected to miss his second straight game due to a lower-body injury. "What day did day-to-day start? I don't know," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "The guy's going to play when he's ready to play and in the meantime someone else gets an opportunity." Babcock also wants to see improved play from goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who will get the start as he seeks his first victory of the season.
ABOUT THE SABRES (1-4-0): Sam Reinhart, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft, scored his first career goal in the loss to the Lightning while playing on the top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Ennis. The No. 1 unit produced 15 of Buffalo's 32 shots against Tampa Bay, providing optimism that it's only a matter of time before the goals will come. “When you get chances, you know they’re going to come,” Ennis said. "We don’t have to change too much in terms of our chances. We just have to score.”
OVERTIME
1. The home team has won the last 11 games in the series.
2. The Sabres have allowed five power-play goals in 12 short-handed situations over the last three games.
3. Bernier is 3-4-0 with a 2.83 goals-against average versus Buffalo.