The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to finish off a disastrous homestand on a winning note, as they take on the red-hot Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. The Leafs will honor in their final home game before the Olympic break former captain and HHOFer Darryl Sittler in a pre-game ceremony, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 10-point night against the Boston Bruins.
The Leafs held an optional skate on Tuesday morning, which revealed Joseph Woll as the club’s starting goalie for the key matchup against their Atlantic Division rival. Veteran Calle Jarnkrok will return to the lineup in place of Jacob Quillan, as the Leafs hope to regain their footing and get off to a better start than they did in a pair of weekend losses to the Golden Knights and Avs.
Toronto trails Buffalo, Boston and Montreal by six points, making it a near necessity that they not only win, but win in regulation to gain ground on the clubs that occupy third place in the Atlantic and the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots. The Sabres have gone 18-3-1 in their last 22 games, most of which took place after the firing of GM Kevyn Adams, and have played much better defensively and received better goaltending from Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen during that span, but in spite of being one of the best teams in the NHL since early December, the Leafs QEW rival was one of the worst in the league before then, so there is still some lingering doubt as to which version of the Sabres is for real.
The Leafs made a roster move on Tuesday, placing defenseman Dakota Mermis on waivers. The 32-year-old blueliner has been on long-term injured reserve since early December, after a knee-on-knee collision with Tampa Bay’s Gage Goncalves, and is being waived to be sent back to the AHL Marlies. The public relations faux pas created by William Nylander on Sunday afternoon was resolved on Monday, as NHL Department of Player Safety head George Parros fined the Leafs winger the maximum $5,000 allowable by the collective bargaining agreement.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (24-19-9 – 57 POINTS)
vs.
BUFFALO SABRES (29-17-5 – 63 POINTS)
JANUARY 27, 2026 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)
TV: TSN ▪ RADIO: SPORTSNET 590
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. BUFFALO SABRES
| All-Time Record: | 92-113-18-11 (234 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 55-44-12-5 (116 Games) |
| 2024-25: | 3-0-0 |
| Last Five: | 4-1-0 |
| Last 10: | 6-4-0 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | November 18, 1970 (Toronto 2 vs. Buffalo 7) |
| All-Time Record: | 92-113-18-11 (234 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 55-44-12-5 (116 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 37-69-6-6 (118 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | October 25, 2025 (Toronto 4 vs. Buffalo 3) |
MAPLE LEAFS / SABRES – 2025-26 TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | BUFFALO | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3,27 (11th) | 3.31 (7th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.37 (27th) | 3.04 (14th) |
| Power Play %: | 17.2 (25th) | 18.8 (21st) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 83.7 (4th-T) | 83.6 (6th-T) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 27.2 (21st) | 27.5 (19th-T) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 31.8 (32nd) | 29.7 (26th-T) |
| Faceoff %: | 56.4 (1st) | 44.4 (32nd) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
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