Tonight, the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs rivalry resumed for another season, as the young Sabres hosted an equally youthful Leafs lineup. Heading into the game, Buffalo had won 17 of the last 19 matchups on home ice since 2009. Would the Sabres home-ice dominance continue?
In the first period, the Leafs swarmed with speed and tenacity. Four minutes in, the Sabres were caught out of position defensively, as Tyler Bozak hit Mitch Marner with a beautiful cross-ice pass for a 1-0 Leafs lead. Zemgus Girgensons and Dmitry Kulikov were busy chasing Leafs players, while Casey Nelson seemed to be in no-mans land on the play.