Ryan O'Reilly said Tuesday he had lots of memories of Sabres-Leafs games in KeyBank Center, where the visiting fans were making a ton of noise and making it difficult for the Blue and Gold.
With Toronto in town for the first time in 15 months, the Leafs' shiny new trade acquisition was getting a look on the longstanding QEW rivalry from the other side.
"It's gonna be a lot of energy, and I always remembered it for that, and we're excited for it," O'Reilly said after Tuesday's morning skate. "It's going to be good. Obviously, I've still got to get used to the team and such, but that's gonna be exciting."
O'Reilly scored a hat trick as the Maple Leafs beat the Sabres 6-3.
The Leafs' visit was their first to Buffalo since a posting a 5-4 win here on Nov. 13, 2021. The other Sabres' home game against the Leafs last season was actually in Hamilton, a 5-2 Buffalo victory in the Heritage Classic outdoors in Tim Hortons Field.
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O'Reilly had one assist over his first two games with the Leafs after being acquired along with Noel Acciari in a trade with St. Louis late Friday night. O'Reilly, of course, led the Blues to a Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2019 after he was acquired the previous year from the Sabres.
The Leafs are looking at the 32-year-old Ontario native to help add to their leadership in the postseason and help snap their string of six consecutive first-round losses.
"At times I gotta catch myself, I still can't believe it," he said. "Growing up in Toronto and actually wearing (the Leafs' uniform) now. It's a little surreal. It's awesome. It's something that I never really think would happen. To be a part of it, be a part of this group, too, and such a good team, there's a lot of excitement.
"It's one of the best organizations, I think, in sports. And you can tell just by the way we've been treated. It's at a different level than any team I played on."
The Leafs have put O'Reilly between captain John Tavares and star winger Mitch Marner, with Tavares moving to the left wing to accommodate the new acquisition.
"We're doing a lot of things well," O'Reilly said. "I think at times, we're just still trying to read each other and kind of see how things are playing out. I thought each game we're getting pucks back and we're close, I think soon we're going to start to take off."
O'Reilly said he's not going to put too much pressure on himself to carry the Leafs through the postseason. There's still nearly two months of regular season games to improve his chemistry with his new team.
"We have a ton of good pieces here. And it's a great team. The coaching is outstanding," he said. "It's not getting ahead of myself, I've got to take it day by day and work and push myself to be better and try to help elevate this team to taking this step. But that's not done just by wanting to have success. It's putting the details in every day and, and competing and doing things the right way. And then, you know, hopefully good things unfold from there."
More from O'Reilly:
• On the Sabres improvement: "It's very different, for sure. It's a very exciting team. You see the dynamic, the way they create the speed, too. They're generating stuff so much that it's a little different. There's tons of talent and speed, and they use it very well."
• On Sabres center Tage Thompson, acquired for him from St. Louis: "Tage has been unbelievable this year. I feel like every time you turn on the TV, it's another highlight reel of something he's doing. Even today watching a video of how skilled he is and dynamic he is, it's gonna be very tough to play against him. Definitely, I think it worked out (for) both sides."
• On Rasmus Dahlin, who was drafted a month before O'Reilly was traded: "Just the maturity that he has, and poise and just the way he plays, it's incredible. It's definitely beyond his years."
