Maple Leafs Game Day Preview: First trip down the QEW – The Hockey Writers Latest news, analysis and more

The Toronto Maple Leafs return to action tonight against their Atlantic Division opponent, the Buffalo Sabres. For many fans of both teams, they know this as a journey along the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW).

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Tonight’s game will be an interesting test for the Maple Leafs. They are coming off a game against the New Jersey Devils, where they received a lot of criticism. Both among the fan base and in the locker room. They were flat and looked disinterested, which will have to change because winning games early in the season is important. Especially against the opponents they have faced. They haven’t met many of the playoff contenders from last season, but still don’t have a great record to show for it. So tonight they start a back-to-back, home-and-home series against the Sabres, where they need to come out with at least three points to change the perception of the team.

Maple Leafs News:

Now on to the team’s recent news. First of all, the Maple Leafs did that placed Joseph Woll on long-term injury reserve (LTIR). He is still away from the team on leave, and with no timeline set for his return, the team has opted to free up his cap space so they can use it if they wish. The team did that too placed Chris Tanev on injured reserve (IR). He left Tuesday’s game against the Devils after his head made contact with Dawson Mercer’s head. He developed soreness and has now been ruled out due to an upper body injury.

As for Laughton, said head coach Craig Berube“He’s doing really well… hopefully he’ll be back on the ice with us [full team] soon.” He is expected to return to the ice and be back with the team soon. The Maple Leafs will be too without Morgan Rielly tonightwho is suffering from a minor injury. However, he shouldn’t be out of the lineup for long and could return as soon as tomorrow night.

Related: 3 outside options the Maple Leafs could look at for the Matthews line

Easton Cowan, who Berube said needed a “reset,” returns to the lineup tonight, and Nicholas Robertson will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. The Maple Leafs will dress Philippe Myers and recent call-up Dakota Mermis in place of the injured Rielly and Tanev. That leaves them down to just four of their six regular defensemen.

Team stats

Toronto maple leaves
Season record: 3-3-1

Top scorers:

1. William Nylander – 2 G, 11 A, 13 P
2. John Tavares – 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
3. Matthew Knies – 2 G, 6 A, 7 P
4. Auston Matthews – 4 G, 2 A, 6 P
5. Morgan Rielly – 2 G, 4 A, 6 P

Goalkeeper statistics:

1. Anthony Stolarz – 2-3-1, 3.01 GAA, 0.894 SV%
2. Cayden Primeau – 1-0-0, 4.00 GAA, 0.867 SV%

Buffalo sabers
Season record: 3-4-0

1. Jack Quinn – 3 G, 3 A, 6 P
2. Josh Doan – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
3. Zach Benson – 0 G, 6 A, 6 P
4. Jason Zucker – 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
5. Alex Tuch – 2 G, 3 A, 5 P

Goalkeeper statistics:

1. Alex Lyon – 2-4-0, 2.55 GAA, 0.924 SV%
2. Colten Ellis – 1-0-0, 2.00 GAA, 0.935 SV%

Projected lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Bobby McMann-Auston Matthews-William Nylander

Dakota Joshua – Nicolas Roy – Easton Cowan

Steven Lorentz – Max Domi – Calle Jarnkrok

Jake McCabe-Brandon Carlo

Simon Benoit-Philippe Myers

Dakota Mermis-Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Anthony Stolarz

Cayden Primeau

Scratched: Nicholas Robertson, Sammy Blais, Joseph Woll

Injured: Morgan Rielly (undisclosed); Scott Laughton (lower body)

Sabers projected lineup

Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Tage Thompson

Josh Doan-Ryan McLeod-Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker-Noah Ostlund-Jack Quinn

Peyton Krebs – Tyson Kozak – Beck Malenstyn

Bowen Byram Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power – Conor Timmins

Mattias Samuelsson-Zach Metsa

Alex Lyon

Colten Ellis

Scratched: Mason Geertsen

Injured: Jacob Bryson (concussion protocol), Justin Danforth (lower body), Josh Norris (upper body), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body), Michael Kesselring (undisclosed), Jordan Greenway (mid-body)

The Puck Drop is at 7:00 PM at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The match can be watched on SN, TVAS.

As always, in my matchday previews I will give my prediction for the outcome of tonight’s match. I have the Maple Leafs beating the Sabers 3-2 in overtime, with Nylander ultimately scoring on a goaltender and his goal coming in OT to win the game.