The National Hockey League announced on Thursday the Buffalo Sabres will take part in the 2022 Heritage Classic on Sunday, March 13, 2022 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Tim Hortons Field - home of the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats - in Hamilton, Ontario.
Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and will be telecast on TNT and Sportsnet.
This will be the third NHL outdoor game the Sabres have taken part in since 2008. The first outdoor game was the inaugural NHL Winter Classic at, then, Ralph Wilson Stadium - home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills - in Orchard Park. Buffalo then played 10 years later at the 2018 NHL Winter Classic played at Citi Field - home of the MLB's New York Mets - in Queens, N.Y. against the New York Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Sabres will become the first U.S.-based team to participate in the NHL Heritage Classic. In the previous five events, it has only featured games between two Canadian-based teams.
"It's an honor to play in the Heritage Classic game. It will be an incredible atmosphere and we are thrilled to be able to play the Maple Leafs in this special event," Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said in a team statement. "Many of us fell in love with hockey while playing on the pond or in backyards, so this will give us a chance to get back to our roots while celebrating the game of hockey."
The 2022 Heritage Classic will be the 35th regular season outdoor game in NHL history.
It will be the third and final scheduled outdoor game for the 2021-22 season. The 2022 NHL Winter Classic featuring the St. Louis Blues against the Minnesota Wild will take place on Saturday, Jan. 1 at Target Field - home of the MLB's Minnesota Twins - in Minneapolis. After that, the 2022 NHL Stadium Series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators will be held on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Nissan Stadium - home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans - in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 2022 Heritage Classic will be the fourth appearance for the Maple Leafs in an NHL outdoor game. Their last game played outdoors came back in 2018 at the NHL Stadium Series against the Washington Capitals at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Be sure to catch all 82 games of the 2021-22 Sabres season on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.