The Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres skated at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Tuesday.

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The Maple Leafs need just one point to clinch their first ever Atlantic Division title.

"It’s special," said winger Steven Lorentz. "We got two games left and we just want to get it out of the way tonight."

"Obviously a great opportunity," centre John Tavares said. "It’s been really close here over the last couple games and a chance to take care of it ourselves today. We want to continue to build on a lot of good things that we’re doing."

The Leafs have gone on a 11-2-1 run since mid-March.

By finishing first, the Leafs would set up a date with the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs. They will also win the division if the Tampa Bay Lightning lose one of their two remaining games. The Lightning host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday before concluding their regular season on Thursday in New York against the Rangers.

"Obviously it’s a good opportunity for the team and the organization," said coach Craig Berube. "We got to come out and be ready to go."

"It’d be fun to steal one from them tonight and rain on their parade a bit," said Buffalo defenceman Bowen Byram.

The Leafs are looking to sweep all three games of the season series from the Sabres.

"This team’s scoring a lot of goals lately," Berube warned. "They got high-end talent. We got to make sure we’re checking and doing things right here early on in this game. They start fast."

Toronto has only won its division twice since the Original Six era. They finished first in the North Division in 2021 and claimed top spot in the Northeast Division in 1999-2000.

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The Sabres will miss the playoffs for an NHL record 14th straight season, but they are playing hard for coach Lindy Ruff down the stretch. Buffalo is 17-12-2 (.581 points percentage) since late January.

"We’ve learned a lot lately," said captain Rasmus Dahlin. "The last, whatever, 25, 30 games, we’ve taken steps for sure. We’re finding a new type of game I........

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