Sabres at Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs attempt to continue the momentum from a pair of road wins over the weekend when they begin a four-game homestand Tuesday against the Atlantic Division-rival Buffalo Sabres. Toronto posted identical 4-2 victories over the New York Rangers and Ottawa to extend its road point streak to 10 games (8-0-2), but dropped a 5-3 decision to Montreal in its most recent home contest on Jan. 7.
Connor Brown scored in both of the road victories, giving him a goal in five of his last six games, while fellow rookie Auston Matthews has landed on the scoresheet in 12 of his last 14 contests (nine goals, eight assists). Buffalo halted a two-game skid Monday with its third straight home-ice victory, a 4-1 triumph over Dallas. Tyler Ennis provided an immediate spark in his return from a 30-game absence due to groin surgery, scoring 19 seconds into the contest, and Jack Eichel ended a four-game drought with his third two-goal performance of the season. The Sabres suffered a 2-1 loss to Toronto at home on Nov. 3 as rookie Mitchell Marner, who has collected six assists over his last three games, recorded his first career two-goal effort.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG-B (Buffalo), Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto)
ABOUT THE SABRES (17-17-9): Ennis wasn't the only member of the team to shine in his return to the lineup, as Robin Lehner stopped 31 shots en route to victory after missing three games with the flu. Cal O'Reilly, the 30-year-old brother of Ryan, was in the lineup for Monday's win after being recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League prior to the game and won 6-of-8 faceoffs while receiving 8 minutes, 15 seconds of ice time. Defenseman Cody Franson is expected to appear in his 500th NHL contest on Tuesday.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (20-13-8): Curtis McElhinney had an impressive debut for Toronto on Saturday, turning aside 35 shots in the victory at Ottawa just four days after being claimed off waivers from Columbus. "It feels good to come to a new team, and I think the most important thing is just to get off on the right foot," the 33-year-old told reporters afterward. Nazem Kadri has scored six goals in his last seven contests and is one away from 100 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Maple Leafs LW James van Riemsdyk (two goals, nine assists) and C Tyler Bozak (three, five) are riding point streaks of seven and five games, respectively.
2. Buffalo C Sam Reinhart, who is tied with RW Kyle Okposo for the team scoring lead with 28 points, notched his career high-tying 19th assist in Monday's win.
3. Toronto is 9-for-18 on the power play over its last five games.