Maple Leafs look to control Sabres in last home game before trade deadline

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Down to one final home game for this Maple Leafs group.

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If general manager Brad Treliving is successful in his quest to add another defenceman and a depth forward before the National Hockey League trade deadline on Friday at 3 p.m., the Leafs are bound to have a bit of different look when we see them again at Scotiabank Arena, on March 16 against Carolina.

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The immediate concern for Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe and his players comes in the form of the Buffalo Sabres, who will provide the opposition on Wednesday night. 

The Sabres have taken it to the Leafs in 2023-24, beating them 9-3 in Buffalo on Dec. 21 and 6-4 in Toronto on Nov. 4. 

The match between Atlantic Division rivals brings an end to a five-game home stand for the Leafs, one that has been marked by inconsistent hockey by Toronto. You’d think the Leafs might have got that out of their system when they won seven in a row, including four on a trip that preceded this stand, but no. 

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As impressive as the win against the New York Rangers was on Saturday, losses to Vegas and Boston in the past eight days have put scuff marks on the belief that the Leafs belong with the big boys.

“We’ve got to find a greater consistency and to do the necessary things for a longer period of time, both in the game and over the schedule,” Keefe said. “Coming back home, it has been a little more up and down. And we’ve had to really work toward that consistency level, in this building in particular.”

The Leafs’ sparkling record of 18-6-6 on the road isn’t equalled at home, where they are 17-12-2.

The Sabres, who will miss the playoffs for the 14th year in a row, have won five of their past seven. 

“We’re in a better place as a team right now than where we were (when the Sabres beat the Leafs 9-3 in December), but (that game) gets your attention,” Keefe said. “We’ve given up 15 goals against this team in two games. It is one of the most skilled teams in this league. If you don’t defend, you don’t take care of the puck, you make it easy on them, they make you look bad.

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“It’s a different type of game when you play against them, the skill that they have, the game tends to be wide open. We’ve got to manage that.”

Keefe said the status of centre David Kampf, who did not practise on Tuesday because he was sick, will be a game-time decision. 

“This is catching up to us again, some of these illnesses,” Keefe said. “We’ve got some others as well that will be a game-time decision tonight.”

Winger Noah Gregor, a healthy scratch in seven of the past eight games, would draw in if Kampf or another player can’t go.

“It’s never fun coming out of the lineup, but I’ve been there before,” Gregor said. “I know how to get my mind back. Just work hard, and when I get the chance, come back and be good.

“In general, I’m a pretty positive person and a pretty confident person in my own abilities. I believe in myself and I know I can be a helpful part of this team.”

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Goalie Ilya Samsonov, who has been sharp in putting further behind him his early season struggles, will start in net for Toronto.

Since Jan. 21, Samsonov is 10-2-0 with a .907 save percentage.

“The confidence, the swagger that he has, it’s a big part of his game,” Keefe said. “He has been building on that. He has been through some tough times and he has found his way through it.

“I think he’s feeling good in that sense. We’re in a different place as a team right now than where we were when we played these guys last. I would say the same about about Sammy.”

The Sabres will counter with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. 

Veteran Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano has resumed skating after he suffered a concussion against Arizona on Feb. 29.

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“He’s doing better, the fact he is back skating,” Keefe said. “It’s nice to see him back around, for sure.”

On the trade front, Leafs GM Brad Treliving has little, if any at all, interest in dealing prospects Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten, never mind 21-year-old winger Matthew Knies. 

If the GM is serious about making the Leafs better than they are now, he’s going to have to part with something of substance. That leads us to winger Nick Robertson, who was loaned to the Toronto Marlies this week. Robertson was not in the Marlies lineup on Wednesday for school-day against Belleville. Read into that what you will, but there’s little for Robertson to prove in the American Hockey League, and work with the organization’s development staff might be what’s best for him at this point. 

Having said that, if Treliving gets to the point where he uses Robertson in a trade, he can’t take the chance that the youngster gets hurt in an AHL game that’s just another one on the schedule. 

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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