Although the Sabres won 5-2 yesterday, it was a close game for almost the entire time. The Sabres pulled away late in the third, maybe because the Flyers' legs got tired after playing two games in 24 hours.

I thought the Sabres power play was horrible, and yes, I know they had 3 PPG's. They were struggling to get set up in the zone and wasted a lot of time trying to do so. I guess I shouldn't be complaining about the power play units since they scored three times. At least they won.

Lindy Ruff said after last night's game that Ville Leino was doubtful for today, so Buffalo will be without him again tonight.

Here's the preview for tonight's game:

The Sabres are in Toronto tonight to take on the rival Maple Leafs in the first of four meetings this season. Last season, home ice advantage proved to be crucial, with the home team winning each of the six games.

The Sabres are 106-65-18 against the Maple Leafs all-time, winning 60.8 percent of games.

The Maple Leafs are coming off a 2-1 win in Montreal and the crowd will be pumped up for their home opener.

Nazem Kadri is one player who looked strong in Montreal that the Sabres should be watching. Phil Kessel was among the league’s elite last year and will be looking to net his first goal of the year as well.

Phil Kessel has 13 goals and 10 assists in a career 38 games against Buffalo. Ex-Sabre Clarke McArthur has posted three goals and seven assists in 13 games against the Sabres and usually looks sharp against the blue and gold.

With players like Dion Phaneuf, Mike Komisarek, and Colton Orr on the Leafs roster the chance of a fight is high. They won’t have a hard time finding a dancing partner with Foligno, Regehr, Ott, Kaleta and Scott all willing to drop the gloves.

In Sunday’s game against the Flyers the Buffalo offense looked sharp, led by Thomas Vanek with five points. The offense was firing on all cylinders and Drew Stafford showed great leadership by dropping the gloves with Scott Hartnell.

Steve Ott scored the first goal for the Sabres this season and was tremendously physical in his first game as a Sabre.

Thomas Vanek has 22 goals and 23 assists in 44 career games against Toronto. Jason Pominville is also strong against the Leafs with 15 goals and 29 assists in 46 Games.

If the Sabres bring the same scrappy mentality into tonight’s game the points will keep on coming. A goal for the Sabres tonight should be to reduce the amount of penalties drawn against them, a total of 21 penalty minutes were accrued yesterday.

Keys for Victory:

- Shut down Phil Kessel, he is a tried and true scorer and keeping him off the score sheet makes things a lot easier

- Keep up the offensive pressure, score early and score often to deflate the home crowd

- Set the tone, get out there and be physical from the get-go
-Tyler Vail, Sabres Hockey Central

Here are a few questions from this week's mailbag:

Name: Bob
Mr. Pegula claims he wants to make a run for the Stanley Cup. Obviously he is just saying that to sell tickets. When or after how many loses do you think he gets serious and fires Regier and Ruff?
I don't think Pegula is saying that just to sell tickets. He is a lifelong fan who wants to see the Sabres win it all just as badly as any other Buffalo fan. The Sabres recently announced that Regier's contract has been extended and I don't think he fires either of them for a while unless things get really bad. I think it'll take a disaster season, or even two, before he fires Regier and Ruff.

Name: Jon
With anahiem having two big ufa's this summer, ( getzlaf and perry),do the Sabres have a shot at picking up either of them? If so wich of the two would you want.
I'd rather have Corey Perry. The former 50-goal scorer is more consistent and has put up more points. He is also injured less than Getzlaf, but that's hard to tell. Anything could happen. I don't think the Sabres will pick up any of them, but either one would certainly be a nice addition for Buffalo?

Name: Bill
Why did the Sabres bother bringing back Jochen Hecht?
I really like that the Sabres brought him back. I don't understand why people disagree with the move. Hecht is a solid and cheap player, and we know what to expect out of him. Especially in a 48 game season, Hecht is useful because he is familiar with the team and players. Also, Pominville vouched for Hecht and played a big part in getting him back here.

Submit your questions or comments for next Monday's mailbag:

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