[Open Thread] Buffalo Sabres vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

       vs        

7:30PM TV:MSG Radio:WGR55

And down the stretch they come!  There are only eight games remaining for Buffalo to figure out a way to leap over at least one team in the standings.  The final eight games are all against Northeast division opponents and it all starts tonight.

Things are starting to go just as I expected before the season began.  Thomas Vanek is now leading the Sabres in goals and Tim Connolly is officially out for the season.  My only question is, what took so long?  How did he make it all the way to March?  All kidding aside it is going to be a real loss for the Sabres, especially on the power play.

Sabres notes:   Thomas Vanek is now at 99 goals in his career...Ales Kotalik reached the 100 goal mark on March 15...It's almost one year to day since the Sabres beat the Leafs 5-4 after trailing 4-1 going into the third period...Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber are bot a plus 11 over the past three games.

Maple Leafs notes:  I'll keep this simple...if they lose they are probably out of playoff contention.  As always check out Pension Plan Puppets to find out more about the Leafs.  Here is some fun viewing for you.

If you haven't registered for a free account yet please do so now and join us for some riveting conversation about the game.

Buffalo Leaders

Goals:Thomas Vanek 31
Assists:Jason Pominville 48
Points:Jason Pominville 74
Plus/minus:Jason Pominville +21
PIM:Andrew Peters 100

Maple Leafs Leaders

Goals:Mats Sundin 32
Assists:Mats Sundin 45
Points:Mats Sundin 77
Plus/minus:Mats Sundin +14
PIM:Nik Antropov 90

Projected Sabres lines

Vanek-Roy-Stafford
Kotalik-Hecht-Pominville
Paille-Gaustad-Afinogenov
Kaleta-Mair-Bernier

Tallinder-Lydman
Sekera-Pratt
Weber-Funk