The Maple Leafs are hoping to exact retribution on their QEW rivals and avoid a four-game losing slide when they host the Sabres in the second game of their home-and-home (5:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on the team’s persistent defensive breakdowns:
For me, it is more about some awareness. We gave up a couple of goals off the weak side there, with two defensemen coming in and scoring. That is our weak-side forward awareness there a little bit.
For me, it’s still the odd-man rushes and how they occur at times. We did a better job of it, but we have to improve on it.
Losing numbers is one thing, and then the other thing last night: I don’t really consider them odd-man rushes over the blue line, but we were right there to defend a couple of them, and we didn’t do a good enough job with our stick details and our details in general. They could’ve been killed plays, and that could’ve been the difference in the game.
Berube on the first game from the Knies-Tavares-Maccelli line:
They did some good things. There is still room for improvement.
I saw more of the better Knies that I saw last year.
I think there is more for Maccelli there; he made some plays, but I think he is still looking off the first play that could be made and is trying to make a better play. I think it’s just a confidence thing with him.
I was encouraged by some of the things I saw from that line.
Berube on goaltender Cayden Primeau’s readiness for his second start of the season:
He has been fine in practice. It is what it is. He has only played the one game. He is a hard worker in practice; he is detailed in practice and has done a good job. That’s all I can go off of.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff on his team’s pace and performance in last night’s 5-3 victory over the Leafs:
We are really trying to play with a lot of pace. A lot of our focus is on moving the puck quicker and getting it up quicker, forwards getting out of the zone quicker, and being ready to go north in a hurry.
Our D have been really good about getting involved at the right time. We do have to eliminate a few of the breakaways we have given up these last few games, but to create what we created, our D were a big part of it.
We scored a couple of really pretty goals, but we still had a lot of opportunities around the net front. We still had point shots and people around the net.
We played a good game.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann – #34 Auston Matthews – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
#23 Matthew Knies – #91 John Tavares – #63 Matias Maccelli
#81 Dakota Joshua – #55 Nicolas Roy – #53 Easton Cowan
#18 Steven Lorentz – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#22 Jake McCabe – #25 Brandon Carlo
#2 Simon Benoit – #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #30 Cayden Primeau
#35 Dennis Hildeby
Extras: Anthony Stolarz, Sammy Blais, Joseph Woll
Injured: William Nylander (day-to-day), Chris Tanev (IR, UBI), Scott Laughton (IR, LBI)
Buffalo Sabres Projected Lines
Forwards
#6 Zach Benson – #20 Jiri Kulich – #72 Tage Thompson
#91 Josh Doan – #71 Ryan McLeod – #89 Alex Tuch
#17 Jason Zucker – #36 Noah Ostlund – #22 Jack Quinn
#44 Josh Dunne – #19 Peyton Krebs – #29 Beck Malenstyn
Defensemen
#23 Mattias Samuelsson – #26 Rasmus Dahlin
#4 Bowen Byram – #73 Zach Metsa
#25 Owen Power – #21 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
#34 Alex Lyon
Injured/Out: Josh Norris, Jusin Danforth, Jason Zucker, Jordan Greenway, Michael Kesselring, Jacob Bryson
