Report: Babcock will test another potential 3rd pairing on defense against the Sabres tonight.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set for another preseason game this evening and this time they will be taking on the Buffalo Sabres.

The Buffalo Sabres are welcoming the Leafs to Buffalo this time around and it sounds like they intend to give their hometown fans a show against their long time Canadian rivals. According to a report from Buffalo Sabres insider John Vogl of the Buffalo News the Sabres are loading up their line up this evening with NHL regulars, a move clearly designed to send the fans in the building home happy and coming back for more. Although not every NHL regular will be in the lineup for the Sabres we will see forwards Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart as well as defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Ristolainen in action this evening.

The Maple Leafs will have a few NHL regulars of their own suiting up for the game in Buffalo this evening with Kasperi Kapanen, John Tavares and Mitch Marner all making an appearance, but there will be a lot of eyes on their blue line this evening in spite of the strong showing up front. That's because according to Toronto Maple Leafs reporter Jonas Siegel of The Athletic it appears as though Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will test out yet another potential third pairing on defense this evening.

The Maple Leafs and their coaching staff have clearly been looking for a potential fit in that third pairing and thus far have trotted out a number of potential combinations thus far in the preseason and will be doing so again tonight. This evening Babcock will be pairing defenseman Jordan Schmaltz with defenseman Ben Harpur, a decision that has been met with a great deal of criticism from fans and pundits alike online. The controversy here seems to be surrounding Harpur, a player that many do not believe should not be a full time player in the National Hockey League, much less one on your third defensive pairing. 

Harpur did show some good qualities when he came to the defense of his teammates in the preseason, dropping the gloves and showing a willingness to get down and dirty, but that is not enough to be a regular in the modern days of the NHL. In fact head coach Mike Babcock praised him for doing so, and that may be playing a role in the gritty defenseman getting another look with a new partner this evening.