Can The Sabres Topple Their QEW Rival To End Losing Skid?

12/20/24 at 7:00 pm at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

Record

Buffalo – 11-17-4 | 26 points – 8th place in the Atlantic Division

Toronto – 20-10-2 | 42 points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division

Special Teams

Buffalo

Power Play – 13.8% (30th)

Penalty Kill – 77.4% (22nd)

Toronto

Power Play – 19.6% (20th)

Penalty Kill - 82.7% (7th)

Top Scorers

Buffalo

Tage Thompson: 27 GP, 16 G, 9 A, 25 PTS

Alex Tuch: 32 GP, 9 G, 16 A, 25 PTS

JJ Peterka: 30 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 PTS

Toronto

Mitch Marner: 32 GP, 10 G, 32 A, 42 PTS

William Nylander: 32 GP, 20 G, 13 A, 33 PTS

John Tavares: 31 GP, 15 G, 14 A, 29 PTS

Starting Goalies

Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (8-10-3, 3.00 GAA, .896 save %)

Toronto – Matt Murray (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 save %)

Line Combinations and Pairings

Buffalo

Forwards

Jason Zucker – Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka - Dylan Cozens - Jack Quinn

Peyton Krebs - Jiri Kulich - Zach Benson

Beck Malenstyn - Sam Lafferty - Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Ex. Ryan McLeod

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - Bowen Byram

Mattias Samuelsson - Owen Power

Dennis Gilbert - Connor Clifton

Ex. Jacob Bryson, Henri Jokiharju

Goaltenders

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

James Reimer

Injuries

Jordan Greenway (out - middle body)

Notes

Buffalo’s 123 victories over Toronto all-time are the third-most against any single team in franchise history. The Sabres have only defeated the Boston Bruins (128 wins) and the Montreal Canadiens (136) more times than they have beaten the Maple Leafs.

Tage Thompson has tallied seven points (5+2) in his last eight games, including one goal in each of his last two home games. A goal in tonight’s game would give Thompson his third three-game goal streak at home. Thompson is expected to play in his 400th NHL game tonight.

Dating back to the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Thompson has 13 points (6+7) in 12 games against Toronto and has posted eight points (3+5) in his last five home games against the Maple Leafs.

Owen Power has notched at least one point in three consecutive home contests (1+3). In his last four games,

JJ Peterka has recorded four assists, including at least one in each of his last two games. Peterka has tallied seven points (1+6) in his last six games against Toronto, including two multi-assist performances (Dec. 15, 2024, 0+2; March 13, 2023, 0+2) in that span.

Peyton Krebs has tallied three assists in his last two home games, including at least one in each of those games.

Alex Tuch has registered 14 points (7+7) in his last nine games against Toronto, including six points (1+5) in his last three home games against Toronto.

Jack Quinn has scored five goals in his last five games against the Maple Leafs. Quinn has recorded six points (5+1) in six career games against Toronto.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo