• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Maple Leafs hoping for Sundin's return vs. Sabres

Mar 15, 2008 - 1:38 PM Buffalo (33-28-11) at Toronto (32-30-10) 7:00 pm EDT

TORONTO (Ticker) - The Toronto Maple Leafs playoff chances look bleak without captain Mats Sundin on the ice.

The Maple Leafs hope Sundin will return on Saturday when they host the Buffalo Sabres.

Sundin, who leads the team with 32 goals, 45 assists and 77 points this season, suffered a slight groin pull in the first period during Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

With the win, Toronto improved to 9-3-1 over its last 13 games and trails the Flyers by just five points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

However, its is unclear whether the 37-year-old center will play on Saturday and the Maple Leafs will have a difficult time without Sundin, who had scored 16 points during a nine-game point streak, which came to end on Wednesday.

"I haven't really tried to push it 100 percent so it's tough to say (if he will play on Saturday), but it feels better than it did right after the game," said Sundin after skating gingerly for about 20 minutes on Friday. "I'll try to go 100 percent (Saturday) morning and I will see how it feels.

"Groins are one of those things where you can walk around and not really feel anything. It needs a skating motion."

The Sabres, who are just two points behind Philadelphia in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, were 0-2-2 in their last four games before claiming a dominating 7-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.