The Sabres are heading into tonight's matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs having played one of their best games of the season. Buffalo welcomed former Sabre Ryan O'Reilly and his St. Louis Blues to KeyBank Center on Sunday and came away with the 4-3 shootout win. The Blues cut a 3-1 second period deficit on a play that saw Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen break his stick (surprise) on a one-timer in the late stages of a powerplay only to have the Blues turn that miscue up-ice and have the penalized player, David Perron, score off of the ensuing rush. St. Louis would tack on another goal on a play that turned in the Blues zone as a crossbar hit by Buffalo's Conor Sheary went back up ice leading to a shot on goalie Carter Hutton and a wrap-around goal by St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn. A couple of miscues, and a mild Keystone Cops moment allowed for Schenn to pot that backhander into a gaping net to tie the score at 3-3.
Buffalo's Sam Reinhart would win the game in the shootout for the Sabres.
The win by the Sabres broke a season-high seven-game losing streak and ended their shot at NHL ignominy. Losing that game against St. Louis would have put them within two losses of a 10-game losing streak which would have been an NHL-first for a team that had a 10-game winning streak in the same season.
As we into the final stretch of the season Buffalo is outside of the playoffs playing the role of spoiler and although tonight's game against the Leafs won't spoil too much for Toronto as they're pretty much locked into third place in the Atlantic Division, beating the Leafs is always a good thing. It's also something the Sabres haven't done this season. Buffalo is 0-2-1 against Toronto with their best showing coming at home in early December when they lost an intense back-and-forth contest in overtime as Leafs center Auston Matthews scored the game-winner with less than three seconds left on the clock.
The other two matchups in Toronto were lopsided wins for the Leafs as they beat Buffalo by scores of 5-3 and 5-2.
Sabres PR points out that this rivalry has been dominated by the home team with the hosts winning 28 of the last 37 games. Despite Buffalo's struggles and the Leafs resurgence, the Sabres are 6-3-1 vs. Toronto at KeyBank Center, 19-4-2 in their last 25 home games against the Maple Leafs.
Thanks to proximity and economics a Sabres home game against the Leafs is usually a raucous affair. With staggering ticket prices in Toronto making it difficult for your average-Wayne Leafs fans to attend games, a 100-mile trek to Buffalo for the opportunity to rep the Blue and White is a trip worth taking. The Sabres have some of the lowest ticket prices in the league and there are many season ticket holders who will sell their tickets for top-dollar to a hockey-crazed Leafs fan.
Many Sabres ticket holders see Toronto games as an opportunity to recoup some of the cost and often times it creates a mix close to 50/50 for each fan base. While it's still a home game for Buffalo, as the Sabres continue to struggle, Toronto fans amp up their braggadocio to the point where it sounds like they're the home team when they score a goal.
Buffalo captain Jack Eichel seems to revel in the odd environment created when Leafs Nation invades KeyBank Center. The 22 yr. old has totaled seven points (5+2) in seven home games and simply loves trolling Leafs fans in the lower bowl after a goal. Reinhart is another Sabre who seems to like playing against Toronto. He has 15 points (6+9) in his last 15 meetings against them.
Leaf Nation is somewhat troubled these days as the team is in a rut and they're not sure whether it's just that or a case of Toronto being exposed. No doubt the Leafs have firepower up-front but their defense is suspect and their goaltending has been atrocious as of late. Toronto has lost two in a row and four of their last five while being outscored 26-13 in the process and because of that tumble, any hope of overtaking the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division has pretty much vanished. The Leafs are six points behind the Bruins in the standings and eight points ahead of the fourth place Montreal Canadiens and because of the NHL's screwy playoff format, Toronto and Boston will meet in the first round of the playoffs if they maintain their holds on second and third place in the division.
While the Leafs are gearing up for the playoffs, the Sabres are nearing the end of another year outside the playoffs. Buffalo is all but mathematically eliminated from the post-season and will have it's playoff drought extended to eight years. The Carolina Hurricanes presently have the longest playoff drought and are in a wild card spot right now, four points ahead of the Canadiens who are on the outside looking in.
After looking like they'd snap their playoff drought during their early 10-game winning streak, Buffalo fell from grace and are left to play out the string. Their precipitous drop from No. 1 in the league to their present status as forgotten leaves a sour taste in the mouths of the faithful in Sabreland but redemption is always around the corner in a matchup against Toronto. There's always that rivalry, and in Buffalo, always a mix in the stands that creates a raucous, playoff-like environment. With the season lost and not much to play for, getting up for a game like this shouldn't be too difficult and in addition, the Sabres have the opportunity to do something they haven't done since December 13--win two games in a row.
Just a little added incentive.
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The Sabres had an optional skate this morning and based upon yesterday's practice, head coach Phil Housley won't change a winning formula:
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
Sheary-Rodrigues-Nylander
Sobotka-Mittelstadt-Thompson
Girgensons-Larsson-Okposo
Dahlin-Montour
Ristolainen-Bogosian
Nelson-Scandella
Goalie Carter Hutton started and won on Sunday so he'll probably get the start in net.
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One final note, forward Matej Pekar was reassigned to the Rochester Americans yesterday after his Barrie Colts (OHL) season ended. The 2018 fourth-rounder (94th-overall) spent the latter half of his Colts season injured but managed 36 points (14+22) in 33 games for Barrie including nine multi-point games and five three-point games.
Pekar is an agitating forward who became a fan favorite at Sabres Development Camp this summer when he proved he could dish out a good hit and take one as well. The Czech native leveled Buffalo first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin during camp and when Dahlin returned the favor, both took it as just a part of the game. Pekar has an engaging personality and a fun-loving nature that is the opposite of how he plays the game. He said at camp that noted Bruins pest, and Sabre-killer, Brad Marchand was a player he models his game after and who wouldn't want a player like that on their team.
The Amerks are driving towards the post season with a roster that's quite full right now. How Pekar fits into their plans, especially with Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson on the playoff-roster but yet to be sent down, is yet to be seen, but you can bet that he'll make his mark somewhere along the line and get noticed.
Here's a two-part profile on Pekar from last summer:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=94414
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=94446
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