NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs vs Buffalo Sabres | 13 April, 7 AM (PST)

[Mary C]

POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS: 

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: 

C | Auston Matthews 

LW | Michael Bunting 

RW | Mitchell Marner 

LD | Morgan Reilly 

RD | TJ Brodie 

G | Jack Campbell 

 

BUFFALO SABRES: 

C | Tage Thompson 

LW | Jeff Skinner 

RW | Alex Tuch 

LD | Rasmus Dahlin 

RD | Henri Jokiharju 

G | Craig Anderson 

 

Following their victory against the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs continue to invite the Buffalo Sabres to their home stadium, Scotiabank Arena, this Wednesday in hopes of lengthening their winning streak. The two teams will be dropping the puck at 7 AM this April 13.  

 

With a record of 26-37-11 at 6th place in the Atlantic division, Buffalo needs to tread carefully inside the territory of Toronto. Toronto is quite an opponent for the Sabres as they tower over them at 2nd place in the Atlantic with 47-19-6. Auston Matthews currently leads the team’s points and goals and scored two goals in their 3-2 victory over the Canadiens. In the entirety of the NHL, the Maple Leafs rank fourth with an average of 34.8 shots and 3.8 per game. The Sabres, on the other hand, are led by Tage Thompson who has scored 32 goals for the team. Buffalo ranks 25th out of the 32 teams. With these numbers alone, the stark objective difference between each team’s current standing and performance already favors the Maple Leafs, but does that ensure their win? Or are we quite underestimating the Sabres? 

 

In March 13’s game against Toronto, Buffalo actually won 5-2. During that matchup, forward Vinnie Hinostroza set a record high 3 points for the Sabres. While it’s easy to pick on the Sabres, who’s to say they won’t pull something amazing like that again? 

 

To conclude, as optimistic as we would like to be towards the Sabres, the odds are stacking up against them. The Maple Leafs won't take their loss lightly, especially as this could easily be their third win streak. Auston Matthews is on fire right now, and with Mitch Marner by his side, no one can put them out now. Our vote goes to Toronto for Wednesday; sorry Buffalo! 

 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022. 7 AM PST. Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada.