Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres vs. Maple Leafs

Don Granato is well aware that the lone visit of the season from the Toronto Maple Leafs will be no ordinary February affair. Fans of both teams will fill KeyBank Center and make their voices heard, making for an intense atmosphere.
Then again, it shouldn't be all that different from when the New York Islanders came to town for Ryan Miller Night, or when the Sabres visited the Bruins on a playoff-like New Year's Eve afternoon.
"I do know that our guys have performed well in really chaotic buildings this year," Granato said. "So, I'm comfortable that our guys will be excited for it."
Tonight's game can be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu beginning at 7:30 p.m. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call on WGR 550.
Here are five things to know in the meantime.

1. The lineup
Jacob Bryson will enter the lineup on defense in place of Kale Clague, who is day to day after leaving practice on Monday with a lower-body injury. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in goal.
Here is the full projected lineup based on the morning skate:
| October 13 vs. Ottawa |

| --- | | LW | C | RW | | 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch | | 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 71 Victor Olofsson | | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 19 Peyton Krebs | 22 Jack Quinn | | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 17 Tyson Jost | 21 Kyle Okposo | | | | | | LD | RD | G | | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | | 25 Owen Power | 23 Mattias Samuelsson | | | 78 Jacob Bryson | 46 Ilya Lyubushkin | | | | | |
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2. Matchup snapshot
   This is the second of three meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season. Toronto defeated Buffalo 5-2 in Toronto on November 19. The teams will meet again on Monday, March 13 in Toronto.
   The Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games against the Maple Leafs and 5-4-1 in their last 10 at home.
   This is the 224th game all-time between Buffalo and Toronto. Buffalo has a 120-75-28 series record. The Sabres are 73-30-9 at home against the Maple Leafs all-time.
   Buffalo has earned a win in three of its last four games against Toronto, outscoring the Maple Leafs 17-10 in that span. The Sabres have earned wins against the Maple Leafs in three of their last four matchups at home and they have scored at least four goals in each of those contests.
   Kyle Okposo has recorded eight points (4+4) in his last eight games against Toronto, including at least one point in six straight matchups with the Maple Leafs.
   In 11 career games against the Maple Leafs in his career, Rasmus Dahlin has notched 11 points (3+8).
   Alex Tuch has earned three points (1+2) in his last two games against Toronto and a point in tonight's game would give Tuch a three-game point streak against the Maple Leafs.
   Dylan Cozens has tallied four points (0+4) in five career games against the Maple Leafs.
   In four of his last five games against Toronto, Tage Thompson has recorded a goal. Thompson has registered six points (4+2) in that span.
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3. Cozens looks to extend hot stretch

Cozens has tallied 40 points (16+24) in his last 40 games, including five points (3+2) in his last four games. With a point in tonight's game Cozens would record his second point streak of five or more games this season and would join Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Thompson and Tuch as the only Sabres skaters to record multiple point streaks of five or more games in 2022-23.
A goal in tonight's game would give Cozens a four-game goal streak for the first time in his career and would make him the fifth Sabres skater (Dahlin, Victor Olofsson, Skinner, Thompson, Tuch) to record a goal streak of four or more games this season.
Cozens needs one point to reach 100 in his career.
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4. A look at the Wild Card race
   The Sabres are four points behind the Florida Panthers for the second Wild Card spot with six games in hand.
   | Team | GP | Points | Points % | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | WC1 - New York Islanders | 60 | 65 | .542 | | WC 2 - Florida Panthers | 60 | 64 | .533 | | Pittsburgh Penguins | 56 | 63 | .563 | | Washington Capitals | 58 | 62 | .534 | | Buffalo Sabres | 54 | 60 | .556 | | Detroit Red Wings | 55 | 60 | .545 |
   If you're scoreboard watching, the Capitals host the Red Wings tonight and the Islanders take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow.
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5. The games ahead
   Following tonight's game the Sabres will end the week with a two-game stint in Florida. They'll face the Lightning on Thursday and the Panthers on Friday.
   Buffalo's next home game is Sunday against the Washington Capitals at 1 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.