Toronto Maple Leafs vs Buffalo Sabres: Game Preview, Predictions, Odds, Betting Tips & more | Dec 21st 2023

The Toronto Maple Leafs go on the road to play the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at the KeyBank Center. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Buffalo Sabres preview

The Toronto Maple Leafs, 16-7-6 are second in the Atlantic division and are coming off a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Toronto is 2-1-1 in their last four and will kick off a two-game road trip.

Toronto has been led by William Nylander, who has 41 points; Auston Matthews has 37 points; Mitch Marner, who has 34 points; John Tavares, who has 29 points; and Morgan Reilly, who has 22 points.

Buffalo, meanwhile, is 13-17-3 which is 14th in the Eastern Conference, and coming off a 9-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Sabres are on a two-game losing streak.

The Sabres have been led by Rasmus Dahlin who has 27 points, Casey Mittelstadt has 27 points, JJ Peterka has 23 points, Jeff Skinner has 22 points, and Alex Tuch has 18 points.

Maple Leafs vs Sabres: Head-to-head & key numbers

• Toronto is 86-111-18-11 all-time against Buffalo.
• Buffalo is 6-8-1 at home this season.
• The Maple Leafs are averaging 3.59 goals per game which ranks second.
• The Sabres allow 3.42 goals per game.
• Toronto is allowing 3.24 goals per game.
• The Maple Leafs are 7-2-4 on the road.
• Buffalo is averaging 2.85 goals per game.

Maple Leafs vs Sabres: Odds & Prediction

The Toronto Maple Leafs are -142 favorites, while the Buffalo Sabres are +120 with the over/under set at 6.5 goals and the over juiced to -148.

Toronto has been solid on the road, while Buffalo is off to a terrible start this season and coming off a blowout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres' defense and goaltending are a major problem for Buffalo and against the Maple Leafs' offense, that will continue to be an issue.

Toronto should be able to score plenty of goals here and win the game in a rather high-scoring game.

Prediction: Toronto 5, Buffalo 3.

Maple Leafs vs Sabres: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Toronto to win -142.

Tip 2: Over 6.5 goals -148.

Tip 3: Morgan Reilly over 0.5 points -110.

Tip 4: William Nylander anytime goal scorer +110.