Main storyline: It is a battle of two heated division rivals, and two of the worst teams in the league on Wednesday night at the First Niagara Center. The Buffalo Sabres (21-47-8) will host the rivals to the north in the Toronto Maple Leafs (29-42-6) in the final meeting of the season between the two hockey clubs.
Season series: Wednesday’s game is the fourth meeting between the Sabres and Leafs this season, with the Sabres going 1-1-1 in the series. The most recent matchup came back three weeks ago in Toronto with the Sabres falling 4-3 to the Leafs in a shootout. After jumping out to a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, Toronto’s Tyler Bozak tied the game 3-3 with a late powerplay goal to force overtime, and eventually the shootout. In the shootout, Bozak scored the only goal in the first round, while Jonathan Bernier stopped all three Sabres shooters to clinch a win on home-ice.
Where they stand: After Buffalo’s win over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, the Sabres sit just four points behind the 29th place Coyotes with six games left in the season. Buffalo also has a game in-hand on Arizona heading into Wednesday’s matchup. Arizona will not play until Friday when the Coyotes begin a home-and-home set with the San Jose Sharks in the Bay Area. For the Leafs, the team sits with 64 points in the standings, which is the second worst total in the East, and the fourth worst record in the NHL.
Recent performance: It was a battle of the basement on Monday night in Arizona between the Sabres and Coyotes. The Coyotes jumped to a quick 1-0 just over a minute into the opening period. In the second period, Andrej Meszaros got not one but two goals to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. Anders Lindback kept out all eleven shots that came his way in the third period, while Brian Gionta and Rasmus Ristolainen scored empty-net goals in the final minutes of the game. Toronto is about ready to play its second game in as many nights, and is looking for its third straight win. On Tuesday, the Leafs got a 3-1 win at home over the red hot Tampa Bay Lightning.
Buffalo notes: With six games left in the season, the Sabres have been playing some inspired hockey since the game against Arizona last Thursday. Over the past two games, the Sabres may only have one win, but the team is directing more shots on goal and creating more chances to score. Buffalo was a plus-20 in Corsi on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche, and was a plus-6 Corsi on Monday. Andrej Meszaros has had quite the two game stretch for the Sabres, as the defenseman has scored four goals over the past two games in Colorado and Arizona. He looks to keep up his hot streak heading into Wednesday’s game against the Leafs. Tyler Ennis is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday following an upper-body injury that sidelined him for the past two games. With Ennis returning, Tim Schaller has been returned to the Rochester Americans in the AHL. It was also announced today by head coach Ted Nolan that Zemgus Girgensons will not return for the rest of the season following his foot injury. Anders Lindback is expected to get his third consecutive start in goal for the Sabres.
Toronto notes: The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ season has been a laughable one to say the least. The roller coaster that is the Leafs are on a short little uphill swing with winning the last two games over playoff caliber teams in the Ottawa Senators and Lightning. Wednesday should be an easy matchup against a team in the Sabres who have struggled all season long. But the Leafs have not won in Buffalo since January 29, 2013 in the shortened lockout season. Jonathan Bernier will get the start in net against the Sabres, looking for his first win in net since March 11 when he beat the Sabres in Toronto.
Conclusion: Buffalo looks to continue to climb out of the basement in the league standings, while the Leafs look to continue its winning ways. Opening face-off in Buffalo is scheduled for 7:30pm, and the game can be seen on MSG Network.