Sabres at Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in a matchup of teams heading for the NHL draft lottery. Toronto is coming off a 4-1 loss to Florida on Thursday in the second contest of its season-high six-game homestand and has the least amount of points in the NHL with 59 - nine fewer than Buffalo after the Sabres completed a 2-0-1 homestand with a 3-1 victory over Ottawa on Friday.
Leo Komarov (team-leading 19 goals) is expected to return to the Maple Leafs' lineup after missing Thursday's game with a lower-body injury. Toronto also could get back Tyler Bozak as the center, who has missed 18 games with a concussion, participated in his first full-contact practice Wednesday. “It’s been fun to watch all the young guys and new guys. They’ve been playing good,” Bozak told reporters as 10 Maple Leafs have made their NHL debuts this season. While Toronto rebuilds from scratch, Buffalo's Sam Reinhart scored his 20th goal Friday and - along with Jack Eichel (22) - gives the Sabres a pair of rookie 20-goal scorers for the first time since 1974-75, prompting Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian to tell reporters, "They're going to be a huge part of our team moving forward and we're lucky to have both of them."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), CBC, CITY (Toronto)
ABOUT THE SABRES (29-33-10): While Eichel and Reinhart - the No. 2 overall picks in the last two NHL drafts - are the face of the franchise, 25-year-old Ryan O'Reilly (team-best 51 points) should be around for quite a while to provide veteran leadership. Eichel, 19, and Reinhart, 20, lead the team in goals while Evander Kane is next with 19. Goaltender Robin Lehner will not play for a second straight game (right ankle) as Chad Johnson tries to win his sixth straight start after a 32-save performance on Friday.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (24-35-11): Toronto native Connor Brown made his NHL debut Thursday, when he was called up to replace Komarov and posted a minus-2 rating in 15:40 of ice time. "It was pretty awesome. The first period there was pretty surreal, playing in front of this crowd and this city,'' the 2012 sixth-round draft pick told reporters. "... I would have liked to have the game go the other way, but it was, all in all, a memorable night." Nazem Kadri (12 goals) has recorded a team-high 37 points - one more than Komarov - but hasn't recorded one in four games.
OVERTIME
1. The Maple Leafs haven't scored a power-play goal in four games (0-for-11) while allowing only one in 19 chances over their last seven contests.
2. Danny Gare (31 goals) and Peter McNab (22) surpassed 20 goals as rookies for the Sabres 41 seasons ago.
3. Buffalo won the first two meetings in the four-game season series, including 4-3 in a shootout on March 7 for its third straight victory over Toronto.