Maple Leafs at Sabres preview

MAPLE LEAFS (41-22-7) at SABRES (22-35-12)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN4, NHL.TV

McElhinney replaced Frederik Andersen, who left the game with an upper-body injury during the Maple Leafs 6-5 shootout win against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Goalie Garrett Sparks was recalled from the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Thursday and will back up McElhinney.
The Maple Leafs are in third place in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the Boston Bruins who have two games in hand.
Forward Evan Rodrigues will return to the Sabres lineup after he missed the past five games with an upper-body injury. Robin Lehner will make his third straight start.
The Sabres are 23 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in the past 14 games and has a two-game goal streak.
Sabres right wing Sam Reinhart has five points (three goals, two assists) in the past five games and 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) the past 17 games.

They said it

"He's been pretty consistent; he's been outstanding for us all year. The games that he's started and the games he's had to come in, he's been great and I think that's a testament to his character and the type of pro that he is. The guys can always rely on him. We have a lot of confidence in the way that he's played so we feel comfortable with him." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly on Curtis McElhinney
"This League, the goalies are so good. We have to shoot pucks in from everywhere and sometimes you get a bounce and I think that's what happened last time and we want to play like that again. We want to get to the net and get bodies, get pucks to bodies. That's how you create some goals in this League." -- Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- William Nylander -- Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Leo Komarov
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Connor Brown
Matt Martin -- Tomas Plekanec -- Kasperi Kapanen
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Roman Polak
Travis Dermott -- Connor Carrick
Curtis McElhinney
Garrett Sparks
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Andreas Johnsson, Dominic Moore
Injured: Frederik Andersen (upper body), Nikita Zaitsev (illness), Auston Matthews (shoulder)

Sabres projected lineup

Scott Wilson -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Sam Reinhart
Benoit Pouliot -- Johan Larsson -- Jason Pominville
Zemgus Girgensons -- Evan Rodrigues -- Nick Baptiste
Jordan Nolan -- Jacob Josefson -- Justin Bailey
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Brendan Guhle -- Casey Nelson
Victor Antipin -- Nathan Beaulieu
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched: Linus Ullmark, Josh Gorges, Justin Falk
Injured: Kyle Okposo (concussion), Seth Griffith (upper body), Kyle Criscuolo (upper body), Jack Eichel (high-ankle sprain), Jake McCabe (shoulder), Zach Bogosian (hip)

Status report

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock did not have an update on Zaitsev or Andersen. Scandella did not skate on Thursday morning but is expected to play.

Stat pack

Toronto has allowed five goals in three of the past four games. Buffalo has scored two goals or fewer in eight of the past 12 games.