Reliving the Buffalo Sabres series win over the Maple Leafs in 2021-22

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Mar 13, 2022; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson (72) celebrates with team mates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 Heritage Classic ice hockey game at Tim Hortons Field. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Heritage Classic – March 13th, 2022

This one took place outdoors at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. While the Buffalo Sabres were your designated home team for the Heritage Classic, they didn’t have much backing on neutral ice. And for a minute there, we thought we were going to see a defensive game in the chill of Hamilton.

Then Ondrej Kase scored 40 seconds into the second period, putting the Leafs up 1-0. By the 2:57 mark, it was 2-1 Leafs, with Peyton Krebs scoring for the Sabres and Auston Matthews once again doing what he does best. Less than eight minutes later, however, Vinnie Hinostroza got one by Petr Mrazek and tied the game at two heading into the final period.

This is where things got good for the Sabres and dicey for the Leafs. Hinostroza scored again at the 5:16 mark in the third and put Buffalo on top for the first time in the game. Krebs scored again at 13:49 and gave the Sabres a commanding lead.

As mentioned, the Leafs got a little dicey toward the end here, with Matthews throwing a cross-check on All-Star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Matthews’ actions would result in a two-game suspension for the forward.

Following the incident, Tage Thompson iced things off with an empty-netter and the Sabres went home with the 5-2 win, having outscored the Leafs 10-3 over the last two outings. But there was still one more matchup to go.

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