BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres are back home from their three-game west coast road trip and will immediately host their rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
That matchup means one of the newest Leafs, former Sabre Ryan O'Reilly will be back at KeyBank Center after he was traded from the St. Louis Blues late last week.
O'Reilly's trade counterpart in 2018, Tage Thompson, is still cool as a cucumber after being a major chip in that trade.
"It's just another game and you know what doesn't really make a difference who we're playing against. I mean, there's a lot of good players across the league and he's one of them," Thompson said after Monday morning's practice.
"It's going to be a challenge. They're a team that's been playing some good hockey, so we're gonna have to be ready."
Thompson was struggling with his game early on during his time with the Sabres organization, while O'Reilly went on to win a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe trophy in his first season with the Blues.
"So many people actually bashed him over... the span before he really emerged in," Sabres coach Don Granato said about his superstar center.
"So a credit to him to stay extremely focused and if you can focus through that. I think he's, I think he's in a pretty good spot now."
Of course, Thompson is in a good spot now, ranked third in the NHL in goals, with 36 over 54 games, which has him on a 54-goal pace for the 82-game season.
Sabres and Leafs face off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.