By skating right at a contingent of Toronto Maple Leafs fans who were sitting at the glass, Eichel was displaying the kind of pride, fight and leadership that Buffalo Sabres players, front office executives, and fans should draw inspiration from all summer long. Poor Curtis McElhinney, he never stood a chance. "Felt good today", Andersen said after spending about 30 minutes on the ice at Toronto's optional practice on Wednesday.

Up next is the goalies for this year, and yes Andersen has been exceptional at times but his numbers do still struggle because of the overall team defense.

Was Babcock surprised when he learned there was an issue with Andersen?

Between the two of them, Kopitar and Toews have won a handful of Stanley Cups in the last few years. Despite passing concussion tests a few days later, he didn't play for nearly a month. But before the puck dropped, the over-ice screen showed the Florida player being hit in the face by a puck, not Polak's stick. Again he missed time in the crease. That he was able to skate on Monday in Toronto was a good sign; that he wasn't able to skate for a full practice was not. He made 14 saves in the first period. Andersen did not return to start the second period after suffering an upper-body injury. They are hard to diagnose, treat and project a recovery timeline for. “We know what we have to do, we know whats at stake, and we know how they play, so its on us to come out and play our game.”.

So McElhinney goes against the Panthers.

Back to the speculation about Andersen and McElhinney. James Reimer who was traded at the deadline posted a 2.49 GAA (goals against average) and a.918 SV%(save percentage).

McElhinney allowed three goals on 22 in the loss. Like Clark said, the kid plots his goals more often than he powers into them.

Backups like McElhinney tend to get sheltered.

No matter what, the young team should be proud of what they have accomplished this season. The last four years, he has only been averaging 19 starts per 82 games, which means a start every 10 days in a typical 3.1 games a week National Hockey League season. He has become a dominant AHL player in that time. "Those are the big things when you are talking about what he does, not necessarily the stats, but the other things he is learning as a 19-year-old". After all, even when he was claimed off waivers by the Leafs from the Columbus Blue Jackets in January, he didn't expect to be here. His style of play is rather erratic; he can allow goals in bunches.

The playoffs may be out of reach for the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, but neither team has thrown in the towel on the season yet.

With the net empty plus a Toronto penalty, the Panthers had a 6-on-4 with 1:08 left, and Jaromir Jagr made it 3-2 on a rebound, his 15th, with 56 ticks left, but that was as close as they would get. "I thought the guys did a pretty good job getting ourselves us back in the game". A win on November 3 marked just their third in the last 20 visits, and the Sabres are now 69-26-8 all-time when hosting the Maple Leafs.

Rest is going to be a huge factor.

"Mac had a real good night for us", Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. The game ended 3-2 in favor for the Leafs.

The Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders on Saturday, moving them to within a point of the Leafs.

If they can batten down the hatches and not let the lack of their starting goaltender-one who has arguably been their MVP this season-creep into their minds, they should make it out of the regular season alive and in the playoff picture. And those teams could well be playing for the top seed in the East, which will have a lot of value given second in the Metro Division means facing another powerhouse in Round 1.