Pre-Game Talk: Buffalo Sabres @ Toronto Maple Leafs | TUESDAY @ 730pm | SNO | Jack vs Auston

[Cor]

Frederik Andersen expected to start.

Doubt there are any lineup changes.


Buffalo Sabres Overview:

- Buffalo currently sits 27th in the league
- 2-2-1 in their last 5 games.
- They currently hold a -22 goal differential this season
- Buffalo ranks 26th in CF%, currently carrying a 47.35% in that regard.
- Buffalo also ranks 26th in GF60
- However they rank 14th in GA60, in large part due to their 5th ranked SV%
- The Sabres are currently missing McCormick, Larsson, Ennis, & Kulikov due to injuries
- Just one former Maple Leaf plays for the Sabres... Cody Franson

Click to read more...

 

[Walshy7]

Buffalo are such a joke. Tanked their hearts out twice and still ended up with the 2nd best player (reinhart may not even be the 2nd best player a couple years on). Seems like a very oiler trajectory with their build.

But any team can win on certain nights and we struggled against them in recent years so heres hoping Matthews destroys Eichel they might even play head to head maybe

 

[schenneuf]

Can't wait for this one.

 

[1specter]

I'm surprised at how bad Buffalo is. Their roster on paper looks pretty good but they just can't seem to put it together. They've had a ton of injuries though so that's certainly a factor, but their underlying numbers are still really bad. I guess Bylsma is not working out too well... It's weird though because in the last meeting with them they dominated the Leafs and I was super impressed with how heavy they seemed to play. Totally thought they were on the upswing.

 

[taurine330]

Yes! Let's get a big W.

 

[al secord]

Franso! He'll score. We'll still win.

 

[Pi]

Buffalo are such a joke. Tanked their hearts out twice and still ended up with the 2nd best player (reinhart may not even be the 2nd best player a couple years on). Seems like a very oiler trajectory with their build.

But any team can win on certain nights and we struggled against them in recent years so heres hoping Matthews destroys Eichel they might even play head to head maybe

They seem like what the Oilers would have been had they not won McDavid. Murray wanted to accelerate the rebuild and traded away too much outside of ROR, all he got back was a bunch of turds in Bogosian, Kane etc.

 

[Lion15]

Toronto ranks 8th in goal differential (+8). Very good 1st half of the season. Here's hoping they can keep moving up the standings.

 

[hockeyes]

They seem like what the Oilers would have been had they not won McDavid. Murray wanted to accelerate the rebuild and traded away too much outside of ROR, all he got back was a bunch of turds in Bogosian, Kane etc.

Yea, I don't understand the point of tanking for 2+ years and then trying to accelerate your rebuild with trades. It's like they only half-committed to the process which will just end up prolonging things in the end.

 

[Budsfan]

Believe it! These young Leafs do
By Mike Zeisberger, Toronto Sun

http://www.torontosun.com/2017/01/15/believe-it-these-young-leafs-do

Mitch Marner still has the type of baby face associated with a kid in minor hockey, not the NHL. There are signs of stubble on the chin of fellow rookie Auston Matthews, but he’s worlds away from ever approaching the fuzziness of Brent Burns territory.

When it comes to potential playoff beards, many of these young Maple Leafs likely will come up short in the facial hair department. When it comes to their on-ice maturity, however, their rapid development — as well as that of the team as a whole — is far more tangible.

As the Leafs embark on the second half of the season, the phoenix-like ascension of this team’s learning curve through the first 41 games truly is admirable, if for no other reason than for the speed with which the growth process has taken place.

No longer are belching up leads late in games commonplace. No longer does Matthews need to be the offensive bell cow, as he was on the opening night of the season when he scored four goals against the Senators in his first NHL game — one which Maple Leafs still lost 5-4 in overtime.

The transformation of this Maple Leafs team between Game 1 and Game 41 was in evidence on Saturday night against that same Ottawa Senators team at the Canadian Tire Centre. Instead of wilting after coughing up a two-goal advantage, the Leafs snapped a 2-2 tie with a pair of third-period goals that moved them into a tie with the Sens in the standings with 48 points, good enough for a playoff slot.

I think the Sabres will come out with guns ablazing, Buffalo is at the bottom of the Atlantic division, with Toronto third and in the playoff position, they have a rivalry with us and would dearly love to beat us.

 

[Pi]

Yea, I don't understand the point of tanking for 2+ years and then trying to accelerate your rebuild with trades. It's like they only half-committed to the process which will just end up prolonging things in the end.

Murray seems like Burke and Nonis combined into one. He too said he doesn't want a five year rebuild and it's probably going to end up way longer than that.

If you are successful, your rebuild should only take ~3 years. Tear down, draft and develop second year and aim for playoffs by the third.

 

[Paradoc]

Buffalo are such a joke. Tanked their hearts out twice and still ended up with the 2nd best player (reinhart may not even be the 2nd best player a couple years on). Seems like a very oiler trajectory with their build.

But any team can win on certain nights and we struggled against them in recent years so heres hoping Matthews destroys Eichel they might even play head to head maybe

Reinhart and Eichel were both the second best player in their draft by many analysts. They were just unlucky that they lost the lottery twice, and the best coach available at that time. Can you imagine Risto, Eichel and Reinhart with Babcock? We should thank the stars we end up winning the lottery, getting Matthews and Babcock.

 

[Paradoc]

Murray seems like Burke and Nonis combined into one. He too said he doesn't want a five year rebuild and it's probably going to end up way longer than that.

If you are successful, your rebuild should only take ~3 years. Tear down, draft and develop second year and aim for playoffs by the third.

He didn't end up trading two first or mortgaging the future. If you want your rebuild to succeed you need to be lucky. That's how Pittsburgh and Chicago end up winning multiple cup by winning their respective drafts. Hopefully, the same goes for our rebuild.

 

[Kazparov]

Murray seems like Burke and Nonis combined into one. He too said he doesn't want a five year rebuild and it's probably going to end up way longer than that.

If you are successful, your rebuild should only take ~3 years. Tear down, draft and develop second year and aim for playoffs by the third.

Frankly you need to get really lucky in the draft and be really good at developing players. Lots of fist round picks never reach potential.

 

[Walshy7]

Reinhart and Eichel were both the second best player in their draft by many analysts. They were just unlucky that they lost the lottery twice, and the best coach available at that time. Can you imagine Risto, Eichel and Reinhart with Babcock? We should thank the stars we end up winning the lottery, getting Matthews and Babcock.

I agree with you. But they went so far into tanking embarrassing themselves knowing 2nd OA was a huge possibility. Reinhart was for sure 2nd best player at the draft I meant now though he isn't slam dunk 2nd. Our tank we scored 1 more point than the year before we weren't as much a joke as Tim Murray and the sabres were

 

[ShaneFalco]

I feel bad for Buffalo fans

 

[1specter]

Murray seems like Burke and Nonis combined into one. He too said he doesn't want a five year rebuild and it's probably going to end up way longer than that.

If you are successful, your rebuild should only take ~3 years. Tear down, draft and develop second year and aim for playoffs by the third.

It's pretty amusing that the Leafs were late to the rebuild party and have already surpassed or matched all the teams that were supposedly 'ahead' in the rebuild and have been rebuilding for way longer. Colorado, Buffalo, Edmonton, Florida, Calgary, Winnipeg, etc.

Leafs have only really been rebuilding for about 2-3 years. They drafted Nylander in 2014 under Shanahan, but didn't really blow up the team until summer 2015 when the Kessel trade was made.

 

[Rick74*]

Buffalo are such a joke. Tanked their hearts out twice and still ended up with the 2nd best player (reinhart may not even be the 2nd best player a couple years on). Seems like a very oiler trajectory with their build.

But any team can win on certain nights and we struggled against them in recent years so heres hoping Matthews destroys Eichel they might even play head to head maybe

Check your attitude at the door fella.

We haven't even made the stanley cup finals since 67. So technically we've been rebuilding since 67.

Just remember that before ya go judging other teams...

 

[Paradoc]

I agree with you. But they went so far into tanking embarrassing themselves knowing 2nd OA was a huge possibility. Reinhart was for sure 2nd best player at the draft I meant now though he isn't slam dunk 2nd. Our tank we scored 1 more point than the year before we weren't as much a joke as Tim Murray and the sabres were

Yeah, the year they tanked very hard a lot of their veteran player didn't like it and they also fired Ted Nolan, which was controversial for some Buffalo fans. The difference between our star players and theirs is that our development seems to be rising while theirs stagnated with Eichel and Reinhart not performing as expected.

 

[Warden of the North]

Never underestimate Buffalo.

Theyve been our kryptonite for a lot of years.

 

[Paradoc]

It's pretty amusing that the Leafs were late to the rebuild party and have already surpassed or matched all the teams that were supposedly 'ahead' in the rebuild and have been rebuilding for way longer. Colorado, Buffalo, Edmonton, Florida, Calgary, Winnipeg, etc.

Leafs have only really been rebuilding for about 2-3 years. They drafted Nylander in 2014 under Shanahan, but didn't really blow up the team until summer 2015 when the Kessel trade was made.

A big difference goes to coaching and management staff. Would you take any of their coaching staff over ours? Hell no.

 

[TLeafsFan]

Really excited for this one.

Matthews and Eichel H2H at the ACC!

Time for the Leafs to engage those after-burners for the second half of the season.

They won't be burning out this year!

GO LEAFS GO!!!

 

[1specter]

A big difference goes to coaching and management staff. Would you take any of their coaching staff over ours? Hell no.

Of course not, we are very fortunate in that department.

 

[1specter]

Check your attitude at the door fella.

We haven't even made the stanley cup finals since 67. So technically we've been rebuilding since 67.

Just remember that before ya go judging other teams...

that's not how it works. why do you keep trying to act like a police officer and telling people how to act or think? i've seen you do this on the main board as well. maybe you should check your attitude instead

 

[Budsfan]