It’s Retro night tonight as the Leafs take on the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are on a seven game losing streak and will be looking to change that today as they head into tonight’s game. The Leafs hope to break the curse of losing to the teams lower in the standings with a win tonight.
In honor of the Reverse Retro game tonight, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite “retro” moments between the Leafs and Sabres. As many of you may recall, the Leafs got into a line brawl in a preseason game vs. the Sabres in the 2013-2014 season, almost ten years ago. It all started when Scott and Kessel got into an altercation. It ended in a line brawl that saw Kessel fight Flynn, Clarkson jumping over the bench to fight (which he later got suspended for), a goalie fight between Bernier and Miller, and other fights too. I don’t foresee a line brawl tonight, but the rivalry between the Sabres and Leafs will continue as both teams look to battle in an offense-focused hockey game.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Bunting – Matthews – Nylander
Kerfoot – Tavares – Marner
Engvall – Holmberg – Järnkrok
Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Malgin
Defense
Rielly – Benn
Giordano – Holl
Sandin – Liljegren
Goalies
Murray
Källgren
Sabres Projected Lineup
Forwards
Skinner – Thompson – Tuch
Quinn – Cozens – Peterka
Krebs – Mittelstadt – Olofsson
Asplund – Sheahan – Hinostroza
Defense
Dahlin – Power
Samuelsson – Jokiharju
Bryson – Lyubushkin
Goalies
Anderson
Luukkonen
Three Things to Look Out For
Marner
Marner has debatably racked up one of the most unnoticed extended point streaks, as he has points in 11 games straight. So far this season, many have said Marner hasn’t looked up to his normal skill level, but in that time, he has still been able to rack up 20 points in 18 games. Marner looks to extend his point streak to 12 games tonight while helping the Leafs on both sides of the puck.
Rielly
Rielly is another player who has gone kind of under the radar so far. He has 15 points in 18 games, and while he hasn’t gotten a goal yet or made highlight reel plays, he has helped the Leafs by being able to play with many different partners through the year and still having a positive Corsi while he’s on the ice. He may not be a shiny new toy or superstar, but he has been a reliable defenseman who can quickly adjust playing with a different partner, which has helped the Leafs get through injury trouble so far this year.
Liljegren
Liljegren has played in 7 games so far for the Leafs this season. He has two goals on the season, both coming from the same game. Dubas has stated he wants to see more from Sandin and Liljegren to evaluate where they are at in their development before he rushes to make a trade. I think this is the right move and will give both Sandin and Liljegren more time and opportunity to further develop. Liljegren has been quiet the last few games, but he has a good eye for the puck and has shown he can hit well. Keep an eye on him tonight as he hopes to make an impact in the Leafs lineup.
You can watch tonight’s game live at 7:00 pm EST on Sportsnet or CBC!
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @nathan_bondy.
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