The Toronto Maple Leafs (34-15-8), one of the NHL’s top power play offenses, head to take on the Buffalo Sabres (28-22-4) and their weak penalty killing defense at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. Toronto is coming off a high-scoring 5-3 loss against the Blackhawks on Sunday.
The Maple Leafs took advantage of their limited power play opportunities, scoring once on two shots while holding Chicago without a power play goal. John Tavares, Noel Acciari, and Mitchell Marner each scored once for the Maple Leafs.
Morgan Rielly had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Ilya Samsonov only had 23 saves on 27 shots against (.851%) in the loss. Buffalo beat the Sharks 4-2 on Saturday.
Four players found the net for the Sabres. Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch both scored and provided an assist to lead the team in scoring. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saved 33 of 35 shots in the win (.942%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Maple Leafs won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-2 victory in November. Tavares led Toronto with three points (1G 2A). Casey Mittelstadt and Tuch were on the scoresheet for Buffalo. Matt Murray got the win, saving 32 of 34 shots (.941%).
FACING OFF
Toronto is averaging 3.40 goals per game for the season, eighth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Sabres team that is allowing 3.44 goals a game (24th). Meanwhile, Buffalo has found the net 3.70 times a game on average, third in the league, and the Maple Leafs are allowing opponents to score 2.67 goals per game (6th).
The Maple Leafs will be looking to add to their fourth-ranked power play percentage of 25.42% against the Sabres, who are the league’s fourth-weakest penalty killing team (72.96%).
Buffalo, meanwhile, has scored on 25.00% of their power play opportunities (6th), which the home team will be aiming to improve on against Toronto’s 10th-ranked 81.61% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 66 points each this season, William Nylander (31G 35A) and Marner (20G 46A) are the top skaters for the Maple Leafs. Marner is among the league leaders in assists (8th). In the net, Samsonov (19-6-2) is Toronto’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.31 GAA and a .918% save percentage.
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 71 points (7th in the league). He has 36 goals (3rd in the league) and 35 assists in 54 games. Craig Anderson (8-7-2) has the best goals against average for Buffalo at 2.86. He has a save percentage of .914%. Luukkonen (14-7-2) has played the most games in net for the Sabres this season. He has a 3.41 GAA and a .897% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Toronto is 12-9-4 on the road this season. Buffalo is 11-14-2 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Toronto Maple Leafs (-175)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
