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34-67-6-6
That is the Toronto Maple Leafs record all-time when visiting their closest geographic rival, the Buffalo Sabres. At the long-gone Memorial Auditorium or the Key Bank Center, the Leafs have traditionally had a tough time matching the energy and effort from their QEW counterpart, no matter where each club is in the standings.
Such will be the case on Thursday, with the Leafs in second place in the Atlantic Division coming off their first regulation loss in over three weeks, and the Sabres wallowing near the bottom of the league with a 13-17-3 record.
The Sabres come into the contest off their worst loss of the year; a 9-4 thrashing at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets, setting up what the Leafs expect will be a motivated Buffalo club to bounce back in a building filled with Leafs fans.
#Leafs on the ice at Key Bank Center for Thursday's match against the #Sabres. Should be a very interesting crowd reaction in the building tonight. pic.twitter.com/lB4KyG4z0y
"There's significant challenges there, we seem to get there best when we play these guys." Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the morning skate in Buffalo. "Every game we've played Buffalo in my time here, it seems we've gotten their best. It's had our attention coming into the game. I think they've got a lot of great young players, they a lot of great elements to their team and they've played very well against us."
The Leafs made a few roster adjustments on defense Thursday, as Timothy Liljegren was moved up to the top pairing with Morgan Rielly, and TJ Brodie was shifted to the second pairing with Jake McCabe. Keefe explained that the move was made to have the former Sabre shift back to the right side (where he has played his best hockey of the season) with Brodie playing the left.
Ilya Samsonov will get the start after Martin Jones played the last two games against Pittsburgh and New York. Samsonov allowed five goals to the Blue Jackets in a 6-5 overtime loss in his last start last week.
Rookie Devon Levi, who was pulled after allowing four goals against Columbus on Tuesday will get the start for Buffalo. Head coach Don Granato indicated that injured wingers Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway will be game-time decisions.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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