The Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs could be an intriguing rivalry, a battle of the QE2 -- the highway connecting both cities and letting fans shuttle back and forth between games. The problem is that last season, as soon as the Sabres became contenders, the Maple Leafs took a massive step back. The hope was that both teams would be competitive in the Atlantic Division this season, but the outlook on that is cloudy at best.
The Maple Leafs sit at 3-3-1 following a 1-1-1 West Coast road trip and their offense looks much better than last season, but the defensive woes continue, with an injury to top defenseman Chris Tanev hurting the situation. The same goes for the Sabres, who have some questions in goal and are now playing without captain and top defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
The biggest similarity between the two teams is that if the offenses get going, the matchup could produce some high-scoring fireworks. Sergei Bobrovsky in the Maple Leafs' crease is a bit concerning, as he can steal a game at any time, but the two-time Stanley Cup champion may not even be able to succeed behind this defense. There have been 25 goals total in the last three Leafs games, while the Sabres have gone over the 6.5 total in each of their last two games. Let's take the over in this one.
Sabres vs Maple Leafs prediction: Over 6.5 (-122) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
