Sabres host Maple Leafs in final regular season matchup

The National Hockey League returns with more action in the East as the Toronto Maple Leafs head to Buffalo, New York, to take on the Buffalo Sabres in their final regular season matchup. The game airs Saturday, March 30, at the KeyBank Center, with the coverage broadcasting live on ESPN.

This season has been less than ideal for the Sabres, with the team sitting in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings going into April and their 13-year playoff drought potentially growing another year older. Additionally, expectations going into this season were much higher for the team, having just signed franchise all-star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin to a massive eight-year, $88-million contract extension.

While the Sabres sit outside of a playoff spot, the Swedish blueliner continues to prove his worth, as Dahlin finished ninth in goals amongst all defensemen — including a 73-point campaign in 78 games last season — and ended up eighth in the James Norris Memorial Trophy race. He also recorded the best defensive season of his career so far, with 45 takeaways, 102 hits and 132 blocked shots.

The offensively talented Maple Leafs, meanwhile, could use some improvement on their own blue line. This season, the Maple Leafs are firing on all cylinders with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Reilly leading the way offensively, with Matthews entering the month of March with 53 goals. However, while the Maple Leafs can score with ease, keeping the puck out of the net has been a struggle as they hold a 3.16 goalsagainst average, with injuries to Mark Giordano not helping the cause.

As both teams are seemingly on opposite sides of the standings, look for the Sabres to come out swinging as Dahlin will surely be looking to shut down Matthews and the Maple Leafs’ offensive prowess.