When’s the last time that the Blue Jays, Leafs, and Raptors all played a game on the same day in October?

Suffice it is to say, exciting times in Toronto as the Blue Jays get set to host Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Meantime, down the road, the Raptors will host Milwaukee in their home opener. Just for good measure, down the QEW in Buffalo, the Leafs will look to get back on track in the first game of a back-to-back home-and-home against the Sabres.

Meantime, the Leafs placed Joseph Woll on LTIR on Thursday. Big picture, the move doesn’t mean much more than giving the team some added roster flexibility. After that, we started to preview the front end of the Leafs/Sabres weekend duel. Anthony Stolarz will take on Alex Lyon. Additionally, Morgan Rielly won’t play, although he was on the ice prior to the morning skate. Phil Myers and Dakota Mermis will make their season debuts. Also, Nick Robertson will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Easton Cowan will return to the lineup.

Furthermore, we both agreed that it’s time for Auston Matthews to step up. The captain is slated to skate on a line with Bobby McMann and William Nylander. Unsurprisingly, Craig Berube tossed his lines into a blender, so we’ll see four brand-new combinations. With no Rielly and Tanev on the back end, it will be mighty interesting to see how the Leafs deploy their D. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who will run PP1 for the first time this season, will likely receive a significant uptick in minutes. Any way you slice it, the Leafs have surrendered 25 goals scattered across their seven outings, so it will be fascinating to see how they look defensively this weekend. For what it’s worth, Toronto went 3-0-0 against Buffalo last season.

Have a great weekend! Leafs Morning Take returns Monday at 11 AM ET. Join us for a full recap of this weekend’s back-to-back against Buffalo. Also, we’ll preview the Leafs’ three game week.

You can subscribe to TheLeafsNation (TLN) YouTube channel HERE. Additionally, we’re available in podcast form, too —wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re at it, be sure to leave us a 5-star review!