SABRES-MAPLE LEAFS PREGAME NOTES


RECENT TRANSACTIONS


2021-22 Matchups vs. Buffalo: Second of Four
2021-22 Record vs. Buffalo: 1-0-0
Toronto Season Record: 35-14-4
Toronto Home Record: 19-5-1

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
February 25, 2022
The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Nick Robertson from the Toronto
Marlies (AHL).
February 24, 2022
The Maple Leafs have recalled forward Kyle Clifford from the Toronto
Marlies (AHL).

LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 5 at Washington 3
Date: Monday, February 28, 2022
TOR Goals: Bunting, Nylander, Holl, Sandin, Engvall
WSH Goals: Sheary, Wilson (2x)
TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 30/33, .909 SV%
WSH Goaltender: Samsonov, 7/10, .700 SV% – Vanecek, 16/17, 941 SV%
TOR Power Play: 0-for-4
TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-3
Team Notes:

  • With his ninth goal of the season scored on Monday, Pierre Engvall
    recorded an NHL career-high.
  • Mitch Marner recorded his 11th multi-assist game of the season.
  • Michael Bunting has scored in three-straight road games (3G). Bunting
    is ranked first in the league among rookie point leaders on the road with 30
    (15G, 15A).
  • NEXT GAME
    Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022
    Opponent: vs. Vancouver Canucks
    Time: 7:00 pm ET
    Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
  • INJURY REPORT
    Ondrej Kase Day-to-Day
    Jake Muzzin Concussion
  • ALL-TIME VS. BUFFALO SABRES:
  • First Matchup between Clubs: November 18, 1970 (Toronto 2 vs. Buffalo 7)
    All-Time Record: 84-106-18-11 (219 Games)
    All-Time Record at Home: 51-40-12-5 (108 Games)
    All-Time Record on the Road: 33-66-6-6 (111 Games)
    Last Home Win vs. Opponent: December 17, 2019 (Toronto 5 vs. Buffalo 3)
    Record in Last Five Games: 3-2-0
    Record in Last 10 Games: 8-2-0
  • ACTIVE LEADERS VS. BUFFALO SABRES:
    Games Played: Jason Spezza (67), John Tavares (35), Wayne Simmonds (30)
    Goals: Jason Spezza (23), John Tavares (22), Auston Matthews (11)
    Assists: Jason Spezza (50), John Tavares (20), Morgan Rielly (14)
    Points: Jason Spezza (73), John Tavares (42), Auston Matthews (18)
    Penalty Minutes: Jason Spezza (44), Wayne Simmonds (27), John Tavares (18)
  • 2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS
    Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO%
    Toronto .698 3.68 2.85 29.2% 84.7% 34.6 30.7 56.1%
    Buffalo .370 2.61 3.59 19.2% 76.6% 29.7 34.3 46.3%
  • THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22
    Power Play: 42/144 (29.2%)
    Power Play Goal Leader: 12 – Matthews
    Power Play Point Leader: 22 – Matthews (12G, 10A)
    2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
  • ON THE PK IN 2021-22
    Penalty Kill: 127/150 (84.7%)
    Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev
    Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A)
    2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
    FAST FACTS

    Wednesday games 10th of 11 (6 home, 5 road)
    Back-to-Backs played 8 of 13
    Record in first game of back-to-back 4-3-1
    Record in second game of back-to-back 3-4-1
    March games 1st of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
  • UPCOMING MILESTONES
    TJ Brodie Six points away from 300 career NHL points
    Mitch Marner One game away from 400 career NHL games played
    Mitch Marner 10 assists away from his 300th career NHL assist
    Wayne Simmonds Two games away from 1,000 career NHL games played
  • 2021-22 MILESTONES
    TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK
    TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM
    Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH
    Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK
    Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI
    Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL
    Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS
    Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
    Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL
    Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD
    Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR
    Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA
    Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL
    William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD
    William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR
    Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI
    Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL
    Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT
    Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA
    John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR
    John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF
    John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT

SABRES

LAST GAME
Sunday, Feb. 27
Buffalo 2 at Dallas 4
Goals: Thompson, Eakin
Goalie: Anderson (27 saves/31 shots)
PP: 0/1; PK: 2/3; Shots: Buffalo 40 – Dallas 31
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 373)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Drake Caggiula (upper body, Nov. 26; IR) – 35 games
Malcolm Subban (upper body, Jan. 13; IR) – 19 games
Colin Miller (upper body, Jan. 17; IR) – 17 games
Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body, Jan. 18; IR) – 16 games
Zemgus Girgensons (undisclosed, Jan. 29; IR) – 12 games
Will Butcher (lower body, Jan. 30; IR) – 11 games
Henri Jokiharju (lower body, Feb. 25) – 2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
2/22: Recalled F Brandon Biro from Rochester (AHL)
2/25: Reassigned F Brandon Biro to Rochester (AHL)
3/1: Reassigned F Jack Quinn to Rochester (AHL)
UPCOMING GAMES

Friday, March 4: Minnesota at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 6: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 7: Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 10: Vegas at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 13: Toronto at Buffalo, 4 p.m. (2022 NHL Heritage Classic – Tim Hortons Field – Hamilton, ON)
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES at MAPLE LEAFS
This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season.
Last meeting: Toronto defeated Buffalo 5-4 in Buffalo on Nov. 13, 2021.
Next meeting: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2022 in Hamilton.
The Sabres are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games against the Maple Leafs; 3-6-1 on the road.
This is the 220th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto; Buffalo has a 117-74-28 series record.
The Sabres are 45-44-19 on the road against the Maple Leafs all-time.
THIS DATE IN SABRES HISTORY
The Sabres are 10-7-3 all-time on March 2.
March 2, 1998: Alexei Zhitnik scores the game’s only goal and Dominik Hasek gets his second shutout in as many nights as the Sabres top the New
York Rangers 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.
March 2, 2007: The Sabres score eight goals, including the first two of Mike Ryan’s career, to top the Montreal Canadiens 8-5 and improve to first
place in the NHL.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Tonight’s contest marks the Sabres’ first game in Toronto since Dec. 17, 2019.
Buffalo has successfully killed off 16 of its last 18 penalties (88.9 percent).
Buffalo Sabres: Media Notes
Tage Thompson has 24 points (12+12) in his last 23 games played, including 15 points (10+5) in his last 13 contests.
Thompson’s eight goals during the month of February tied him for sixth in the NHL during that span.
Thompson has tallied eight shots on goal in each of his last two games.
Since making his Sabres debut on Dec. 29, Sabres forward Alex Tuch has recorded 22 points (7+15) in 22 games.
Tuch currently ranks seventh among all Sabres players in points this season despite playing less than half as many games as five of the six players
ahead of him (Thompson, Skinner, Dahlin, Okposo, and Cozens) and half as many games as the sixth player (Olofsson).
Kyle Okposo has three points (2+1) in his last three contests.
TAKIN’ IT TO TORONTO
Rasmus Dahlin has seven points (2+5) in seven career games against the Maple Leafs and currently holds a four-game point streak against Toronto,
registering five points (2+3) in the four contests.
Dahlin has registered a plus-2 rating in each of his last two games against Toronto.
In three career games at Toronto, Dahlin has tallied four points (1+3).
Kyle Okposo has five points (2+3) in his last five games against Toronto, including at least a point in each of the last three meetings, tallying four
points (2+2) during that span.
Okposo tallied two assists and registered a plus-2 rating against Toronto on Nov. 13, 2021 in Buffalo.
Okposo has recorded 11 points (3+8) in 14 games against Toronto as a member of the Sabres.
In the first matchup with Toronto this season on Nov. 13, 2021, Jeff Skinner recorded three points (2+1).
Tage Thompson tallied two points (1+1) against Toronto on Nov. 13, 2021.
In 32 career starts against Toronto, Craig Anderson holds a record of 17-9-4, along with a .917 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average.
WHAT’S THE SKINNY?

Jeff Skinner has already recorded 20 goals this season, marking the eighth 20-goal season of his 12-year NHL career.
Since entering the league in 2010-11, Skinner ranked 15th among all NHL skaters with 285 goals and was seventh in the league during that span with
228 even-strength tallies before Tuesday’s games.
Among all players to have played at least 25 career games for the Sabres, Skinner ranks ninth with .280 even-strength goals per game (69 EVG in 246
GP).
CHASING 300
Craig Anderson is three wins away from the 300th victory of his NHL career.
38 goaltenders in NHL history have won 300 games in their career, including six active netminders.
With three more wins, Anderson would become the sixth American-born goaltender to reach the 300-win plateau.
Anderson won his 297th career game at Montreal on Feb. 13 to move into 40th all-time in wins by an NHL goaltender.
SETTING THE PACE
A number of Sabres players are on pace for or have already established new career highs in goals, assists and points this season.
With two goals on Nov. 26 in Buffalo’s 20th game of the season, Tage Thompson set a new single-season career high in goals (10) and points (15).
His previous career highs of eight goals and 14 points came in 38 games during the 2020-21 season.
Dylan Cozens has already eclipsed his 2020-21 totals in goals (4), assists (9) and points (13).
Cozens established new career highs in goals (5 goals in 21 GP), assists (10 assists in 38 GP) and points (14 points in 23 GP) in fewer games than
the 41 contests he played in as a rookie.
Rasmus Asplund has already set a new single-season career high in assists and points and is on pace to establish a new career high in goals.
Asplund reached 12 points (5+7) in 19 games this season. He recorded 11 points (7+4) in 2020-21 over 28 games played.
Despite missing 10 games this season, Victor Olofsson is on pace for 28 assists, which would establish a new career high.
Kyle Okposo is on pace for 21 goals and 48 points this season, which would be Okposo’s highest totals since he registered 22 goals and 64 points in
his last season as a member of the New York Islanders in 2015-16.
Rasmus Dahlin is on pace for 12 goals, 40 assists and 52 points, all of which would surpass his previous career-high marks.
Despite playing in just 22 of Buffalo’s 54 games this season, Alex Tuch is on pace to record 34 assists, which would eclipse his career-high total of 32
assists from the 2018-19 season in which he played 74 games.
Despite missing 18 games this season, Henri Jokiharju is on pace for five goals, 16 assists and 21 points, all of which would be new career highs.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE A DAHL-STAR
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected to represent Buffalo on the Atlantic Division team at the 2022 All-Star Game on Feb. 5. It’s
Dahlin’s first career All-Star Game selection.
Dahlin tallied two points (1+1) and led the Atlantic Division team in ice time (7:41) and shots on goal (4) on Feb. 5 at the 2022 All-Star Game.
Dahlin currently leads the Sabres in assists (26) and is third on the team in points (34).
Dahlin’s 13 power-play points are also good for the team lead.
Dahlin’s eight goals this season tied him for 12th in the NHL among defensemen entering play Tuesday.
Since Nov. 21, 2021, Dahlin was tied for 11th among NHL defensemen in scoring entering play Tuesday, tallying 26 points (6+20) during that span.
In less than four full seasons, Dahlin is already climbing up Buffalo’s record books. Among all Sabres defensemen in franchise history, Dahlin ranks…
17th in goals (26), one away from matching Richie Dunn for 16th all-time
14th in assists (115)
16th in points (141), four away from tying Dmitri Kalinin for 15th all-time
14th in power-play goals (10), two shy of moving into a five-way tie for 10th all-time
10th in power-play points (63), one away from tying Mike Ramsey and Brian Campbell for eighth all- time
Among Sabres defensemen to play at least 82 games for the franchise, Dahlin ranks fifth in both assists per game (0.46) and points per game (0.57)
and 11th in goals per game (0.10).
Including this season, Dahlin owns two of the three most productive seasons by a Sabres defenseman in the last 25 years (dating back to 1996-97).
Brian Campbell, .683 P/GP (2008-09)
Rasmus Dahlin, .678 P/GP (2019-20)
Rasmus Dahlin, .654 P/GP (2021-22)
SABRES REAL-TIME STATS LEADERS
Hits: Hayden (87), Hagg (75), Dahlin (67)
Blocked Shots: Hagg (77), Pysyk (75), Dahlin (61)
Shots: Skinner (164), Thompson (164), Okposo (121)
SABRES’ RECORD IN 10 GAME SEGMENTS [W-L-OTL (PTS), GF/GA, PP, PK]
1-10: 5-4-1 (11), 29/27, 7/27, 25/28
11-20: 3-6-1: (7), 28/40, 4/26, 17/26
21-30: 2-5-3: (7), 24/36, 3/23, 18/21
31-40: 2-6-2 (6), 23/35, 6/30, 20/31
41-50: 4-5-1 (9), 30/36, 7/31, 24/30
51-60: 0-4-0 (0), 8/20, 1/9, 7/9
OVERTIME RESULTS (1-7; 127-145 all-time)
Oct. 23 at NJD: L, 2-1 (GWG-Zacha)
Oct. 28 at ANA: W, 4-3 (GWG-Asplund)
Nov. 6 vs. DET: L, 4-3 (GWG-Seider)
Nov. 27 at DET: L, 3-2 (GWG-Raymond)
Dec. 17 at PIT: L, 3-2 (GWG-Carter)
Jan. 1 at BOS: L, 4-3 (GWG-Coyle)
Jan. 17 vs. DET, L, 3-2 (GWG-Larkin)
Feb. 10 vs. CBJ, L, 4-3 (GWG-Voracek)
SHOOTOUT RESULTS (2-1; 83-75 all-time)
Oct. 16 vs. ARI: W, 2-1 (GDG-Ruotsalainen)
Dec. 11 vs. WSH: L, 3-2 (GDG-Oshie)
Dec. 16 at MIN: W, 3-2 (GDG-Thompson)
MILESTONES APPROACHING (Player … Needs … Milestone)
Games Played
Tage Thompson … 5 games … 200 career games
Dylan Cozens … 8 games … 100 career games
Henri Jokiharju … 11 games … 200 career games
Assists
Alex Tuch … 7 assists … 100 career assists
Wins
Craig Anderson … 3 wins … 300 career win

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