Even though Buffalo received over six feet of snow over the past few days, the Sabres managed to make it to Toronto for a Saturday night tilt against the Leafs. Early on in this one, there was one very evident thing; the Sabres are a massive team. It felt like every second guy was 6’5 or taller. The first half of the opening frame was a lot of back and forth, but neither team could generate any grade-A scoring chances. Auston Matthews did manage to spring Michael Bunting all alone on a rush play, but Bunting could not cash in. With 7:15 remaining in the frame, the Leafs drew the game’s first power play as Riley Sheahan was called for hooking. The top unit wasted no time as Morgan Rielly fed Mitch Marner a one-timer that John Tavares tipped home from his office in front of the net, giving the Leafs a 1-0 lead. That assist stretches Marner’s point streak to 12 games. The goal was Tavares’ tenth goal of the year. Not long after the Tavares goal Engvall came flying into the Sabres zone, and he found a wide-open Jarnkrok in the slot who made absolutely no mistake on the one-timer giving the Leafs a 2-0 lead on his fourth goal of the year. Assists go to Engvall and Sandin. At 17:52, Tavares was called for tripping on Owen Power. Thirty seconds into the Sabres’ power play Marner broke free and got a shorthanded breakaway. He made a move and then dropped it off to Mark Giordano, who threw it on the net as a Sabres player came flying back to try and recover defensively. In doing so, he knocked the net off, but the goal was determined to be a good goal as the scoring chance from Giorando came directly after the Sabres knocked the net off. The second assist on the goal went to David Kampf. Shots on goal after 20 minutes of play were 12-7 in favor of the blue and white. TOI leader was the grizzled vet Mark Giordano with 8:14!
In the first minute of the second period, you could almost hear all of Leafs Nation collectively holding their breath as Matt Murray got run into and got up slowly. Thankfully Murray didn’t seem any worse for wear and stayed in the game. 2:08 into the frame, Rasmus Sandin was called for a hooking minor, giving the Sabres an early power play to start the second. To say Sandin hasn’t been good to start this year would be an incredible understatement. Fortunately for Sandin, the Leafs killed off the man advantage while keeping their 3-0 lead intact. With 11:53 remaining in the period Auston Matthews was called for … an illegal check to the head of Casey Mittelstadt. This time the Sabres strike with the man advantage. The Leafs were only six seconds away from successfully killing off another penalty.
Nonetheless, Alex Tuch deflected a Dylan Cozens shot past Matt Murray, making it a 3-1 game. The goal really went to the Sabres legs and took the wind out of the Leafs sails as they were flat-footed on several shifts following the goal. As a result, William Nylander was called for a high sticking minor on Casey Fitzgerald, giving the Sabres their fourth power play of the night. The Leafs were successful in killing off this one, and they even got a scoring chance as Kerfoot managed to generate a shorthanded breakaway but to no avail. The Leafs finally get a penalty call to go their way as Henri Jokiharju was called for slashing on William Nylander. What better way to make the Sabres pay than to strike quickly on the power play? That’s exactly what the Leafs top unit did as Nylander managed to stuff home his ninth goal of the year on the doorstep. Assists on the goal went to John Tavares and Auston Matthews. Shots on goal in the middle frame were 12-6 in favor of the Sabres, who pushed back, but Matt Murray held his ground and only gave up the lone goal. Shots overall were 20-17 in favor of the Sabres as well. TOI leader after 40 minutes was Justin Holl with 16:24.
The third period started with a great pace, with both teams trading chances back and forth. Five minutes into the 3rd period Morgan Rielly took a stick to the face that went uncalled. Seconds after the noncall on the high stick, William Nylander was called for his second minor of the game as he hooked Victor Olofsson, giving the Sabres their fifth power play of the game. William Nylander turned on the jets and blew past the Sabres defender, beating them to a loose puck and getting a partial breakaway that he made absolutely no mistake on. It was Nylander’s second goal of the game and tenth of the year with 9:23 remaining in regulation. John Tavares had the lone assist on the goal. With 6:06 to go in this one, Timothy Liljegren was called for cross-checking, giving the Sabres yet another power play, their sixth of the game. On their first five power plays of the game, the Sabres generated twelve shots on goal—the Sabres strike for their second goal of the game. Murray made the initial save on a one-timer from Olofsson, but Middelstadt was alone on the doorstep and made no mistake burying the rebound past Murray at 15:07, his fifth goal of the year. Assists on the goal went to Victor Olofsson and Owen Power. With 1:10 to play in regulation, the Leafs got their third-man advantage of the game as Riley Sheahan was called for cross-checking on Rasmus Sandin. The Leafs just let the clock drain out and hung on for the 5-2 victory. This was another fantastic game from Matt Murray, who looks like he is finding his groove after returning from his injury. Shots on goal in the 3rd period were 14-6 for Buffalo and 33-23 overall in favor of the Sabres as well. TOI leader in this one was Justin Holl with 24:08.
Tonight’s Three Stars
- William Nylander: 2 Goals
2. John Tavares: 1 Goal 2 Assists
3. Matt Murray: 32 Saves on 34 Shots
The Leafs are back in action on Monday as they host the New York Islanders!
For more Leafs news and in-game tweets, follow me on Twitter @mikethefanatic! Also, be sure to check out The Leafs Late Night Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts!
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TORONTO WHITE SHOULDERS: 5 BUFFALO WHITE SHIRTS: 2
Seriously, the Leafs are now 10-5-4 BUT NEW JERSEY will be VERY TOUGH IN NEW JERSEY!!
MARNER still has SEVEN games to go to get the LEAF RECORD of 19 games with at least ONE POINT!!
The ISLANDERS are next!
I don’t think that the ISLANDER fans will BOO JOHN TAVARES this time!!