Game Preview | 5 things to know ahead of Sabres at Maple Leafs

TORONTO -Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin were both full participants in an optional morning skate ahead of the Buffalo Sabres' meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Scotiabank Arena.
Sabres coach Don Granato said the status of both players for tonight's game will be revealed during pregame warmups. Tuch has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury but returned to practice on Sunday. Dahlin missed practice on Sunday due to an upper-body injury.
The Sabres will be without defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (upper body) and goaltender Eric Comrie (lower body), both of whom are considered week to week.
Coverage tonight begins at 7 p.m. on MSG. The puck drops at 7:30 on MSG and WGR 550.
Here are five things to know.

1. The lineup

Craig Anderson was the first goaltender off the ice and is expected to start in goal.
The rest of the lineup will be announced during warmups.

2. The power play

Tuch and Dahlin were both in their usual spots on the first power-play unit during the morning skate. The groups were as follows:
Unit 1
Tuch
Thompson - Cozens - Skinner
Dahlin
Unit 2
Krebs
Quinn - Mittelstadt - Peterka
Power

3. The Kids Table

JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, and Jack Quinn were reunited at linemates for Saturday's game against the Rangers after experiencing success earlier in the season. The Sabres earned a 21-9 advantage in shot attempts with the trio on the ice at 5-on-5 in the overtime loss.
"They probably deserved to score a couple," Granato said afterward. "They were dynamic."
The Sabres have produced 80 high-danger scoring chances this season with Peterka, Cozens, and Quinn sharing the ice at 5-on-5, posting an expected goals-for percentage of 56.86 (according to Natural Stat Trick).

4. Milestone watch

Dahlin enters tonight one assist shy of becoming the third defenseman in Sabres history to record 50 or more assists in a single season. Phil Housley and John Van Boxmeer both accomplished the feat twice.

5. Scouting the Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs have won their previous two meetings with the Sabres this season, 5-2 in Toronto on November 19 and 6-3 in Buffalo on February 21. They scored a combined seven first-period goals in those games.
Granato said the Sabres will be focused on playing tighter in the season series finale, an objective they followed through on against a similarly high-powered Rangers team on Saturday.
"I think we played a little too loose the first couple times," Granato said. "… [We] have to adjust accordingly to work to minimize that. Obviously, they're a very powerful - explosive I should say - offensive team. A prolific offensive team. So, you can play very well against them and still give up goals. But there is no question we can play better to that initiative."
Toronto is without Ryan O'Reilly, who is on long-term injured reserve with a broken finger. Mitch Marner is coming off a four-point performance in win over Edmonton on Saturday.
Matt Murray is expected to start in goal.