Storylines
1. Last time out
The Sabres opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game and led 3-1 early in the second period, but a run of three goals from the Maple Leafs in a span of 2:31 swung momentum in Toronto’s favor.
Jack Quinn scored two goals in the 5-3 loss after sitting out the previous five games.
“He’s worked extremely hard,” Ruff said. “We wanted him to work on some things. I think he’s really worked on them, and I think it paid off.”
Read more in Sunday’s Postgame Report.
2. Protecting the lead
The Sabres have scored the first goal in seven of their last 10 losses and rank fourth in the NHL with 33 first-period goals this season, but they’ve been outscored a combined 77-56 in second and third periods.
Ruff called timeout following the Maple Leafs’ three-goal swing on Saturday, during which he encouraged the Sabres to stick with their game plan through adversity.
“I said, ‘Listen, we can do this. This is hard right now. We’ve got to do it together, but we’ve got to believe in how we need to play to get the job done,’” Ruff said.
3. Scouting the Canadiens
Montreal won the first meeting of the season series 7-5 at KeyBank Center on Nov. 11. The game featured six lead changes and saw the Sabres lose Tage Thompson, Mattias Samuelsson, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to second-period injuries.
Nick Suzuki, who scored two goals in that first meeting, leads the Canadiens with 30 points this season. Cole Caufield also scored two of his team-high 17 goals in that game.
Defenseman Lane Hutson, a second-round pick in 2022, leads league rookies with 19 assists and scored his first NHL goal in a loss to Winnipeg on Saturday.
Montreal has dropped its last two games, including a 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh in its most recent home game on Dec. 12.
