Why Cayden Primeau needs a revenge game against Sabres this weekend

Cayden Primeau will get a second go at defending Toronto’s crease this weekend, with the Maple Leafs set to play a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres.

After the team claimed him off waivers, Primeau’s Leafs debut came in a messy 7-4 victory over the Nashville Predators earlier this month. The 26-year-old goaltender finished with an .867 SV %, conceding four goals on 30 shots faced. Despite coming away with the win, he noted after that his game “wasn’t pretty at times,” saying there was “a lot of good, but a lot I can work on.”

As the Michigan native gears up to play the Sabres on either Friday or Saturday, it may bring up some bad memories. Primeau last faced off against the Sabres last November with the Montreal Canadiens. He conceded a dismal five goals on 14 shots before he was pulled from the game in what was one of the worst starts of his career. It was a Remembrance Day game he wouldn’t soon forget.

Already on borrowed time with the Canadiens at that point, that fateful game against the Sabres was one of his final chances with the organization. After that, he only made two more starts, with equally shaky results. Primeau was sent down to the minors shortly after, where he played out the remainder of his season to some success.

Three of Buffalo’s five goalscorers from that fateful showdown–Tage Thompson, Bowen Byram, and Peyton Krebs–are still with the team a year later and likely to suit up this weekend against the Maple Leafs. It’s a chance for Primeau to show he can carry his strong play from the AHL to the highest level once again, facing a team that took him down so handily one year ago. In Joseph Woll’s indefinite absence, Primeau has been given a golden opportunity to prove he can be an NHL-caliber goaltender, but it’s up to him to seize the moment.

Primeau has had a career of ups and downs, and maybe nothing better demonstrates that than his record against the Sabres. Before his catastrophic showing against Buffalo last season, he previously faced the Sabres one other time, backstopping the Canadiens to a 3-2 shootout win in December of 2023. He had a career-high 46 saves in that contest, shutting down Thompson and JJ Peterka in the shootout to secure a hard-fought win for Montreal.

Indeed, one of both Primeau’s best and his worst career NHL games came in his two starts against the Buffalo Sabres. So what does this weekend have in store? As the Leafs face their second losing skid of the year, it’s up to Primeau to step up to the task for what should be a winnable game for Toronto against this struggling Sabres group.