Game 60

Buffalo Sabres (19-32-8) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (37-16-5)

Puck Drop: 4:00 PM EST | Tim Hortons Field | Hamilton, ON

TV: TNT

Radio: WGR 550

SB Nation Leafs Blog: Pension Plan Puppets

Know Your Opponent

Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: (37-16-5) | 79 PTS

Division Ranking: 3rd in Atlantic

PP: 1st (29.9%)

PK: 5th (83.8%)

1. Taking Things Outdoors

The Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs continue their season series today, with a twist.

Today’s game serves as the third of four matchups this season, with Buffalo and Toronto having split the season series with one win a piece so far.

Instead of continuing things over at KeyBank Center, Buffalo heads north of the border to Hamilton, Ontario.

Tim Hortons Field will play host to today’s game, this year’s Heritage Classic.

2. Having Their Hands Full

Buffalo will play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs today, which presents a problem within itself.

The Maple Leafs just so happen to be really good at hockey.

Toronto rolls into Tim Hortons Field third in the Atlantic Division, with 79 points. They also happen to lead the league in power play percentage (29.9), fifth in penalty kill percentage (83.8), first in faceoff win percentage (56.0) and third in goals for per game (3.71).

With Buffalo allowing 3.54 goals per game, it could be a long afternoon for the Sabres.

3. Playing Strong

Kyle Okposo’s career resurgence under head coach Don Granato continues.

Okposo has been playing strong as of late, with four points (two goals, two assists) in his last five games.

According to ESPN, Kyle Okposo is on-pace for 21 goals and 47 points, both of which would be Sabres-career highs for Okposo.

Not bad for a 33-year-old forward.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Victor Olofsson – Casey Mittelstadt – Kyle Okposo

Peyton Krebs – Dylan Cozens – Vinnie Hinostroza

Rasmus Asplund – Cody Eakin – John Hayden

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju

Mattias Samuelsson – Jacob Bryson

Robert Hagg – Mark Pysyk

Starter: Craig Anderson

Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards

Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner

Nicholas Robertson – John Tavares – Ondrej Kase

Wayne Simmonds – Alexander Kerfoot – William Nylander

Ilya Mikheyev – David Kampf – Pierre Engvall

Defense

Morgan Rielly – Timothy Liljegren

T.J. Brodie – Justin Holl

Travis Dermott – Ilya Lyubushkin

Starter: Petr Mrazek