Massive display of effort and two other reasons why Sabres beat Leafs
The Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs and put up six goals in the process alongside 41 shots on goal in what was an incredible effort.
The Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in what was a much-needed bounce-back win after they barely showed up the previous night. Buffalo went into last night’s game knowing that, even if it’s still early in the season, that it would do well in their interests to come away with the W to avoid playing catch-up hockey early in the year.
And they did just that, scoring six goals and finding an answer for primarily Auston Matthews every time he scored – three times, if you were doing the math. But what were the three biggest factors that allowed the Sabres to come away with the much-needed win?
For one, they shot the puck well, and ended up with 41 shots on net. For another, they didn’t mess around, and took advantage of the opportunities the Leafs gave them when they needed to the most. And finally, they ultimately won the special teams battle, stopping the Leafs power play for the most part and scoring on the man advantage.
Why the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs
1 – They got pucks to the net
Here is an interesting statistic: The Buffalo Sabres got the puck to the net against the Toronto Maple Leafs 41 times, or four times more than their 37 shots on goal in their combined previous two games against the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s nothing short of remarkable, and their tendency to get shots on net alone is a huge reason why the Sabres are 6-6-0 instead of 5-7-0.
When the high-octane version of this team shows, they almost always win, or they at least make things interesting. That didn’t happen over the previous two games, despite the fact that the group ended up with five goals on Wednesday. But after finding the net six times on 41 shots on goal, it should tell the Sabres something: Make a habit out of getting the puck to the net.
2 – The Sabres displayed a sense of urgency
It was something we didn’t see on Friday night, as the Sabres let the Flyers take a big lead on them early and cruise to an easy win. But on Saturday, Buffalo was not letting that lead slip, as every time the Maple Leafs tied the game, the Blue and Gold immediately scored to put themselves back on top.
At the 12:05 mark, the Leafs struck first, only for JJ Peterka to cancel out that lead four minutes later. It was the only lead Toronto had, and from then on out, Buffalo forced them to play catch-up following Tage Thompson’s shorthanded goal.
Auston Matthews got hot and tried to answer the Sabres three times, but the Blue and Gold had their own respective answers 34 seconds, 2:54, and 5:22 afterward. The sense of urgency paid off late when Alex Tuch scored off of helpers from Rasmus Dahlin and Connor Clifton.
Now, the team MUST continue that sense of urgency as they head to Carolina this week. If they can, then perhaps the Blue and Gold finally push themselves over the 0.500 mark for the first time in 2023-24.
3 – They won the special teams battle
Over the past three weeks, the Sabres penalty kill was top-notch, but their power play was anything but. And while the PK unit allowed one goal last night, they still scored once shorthanded and won the overall special teams battle against a team that had been converting roughly 30 percent of its power plays, allowing just one in four attempts.
Buffalo also scored on one of their own power plays, which occurred when Victor Olofsson and Owen Power linked up to ultimately find JJ Peterka, who had yet another incredible game offensively. The goal proved to be a difference-maker late, allowing Alex Tuch to score the game-winner in the third, before he also snagged the game-sealer.
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Overall, it was collectively a strong effort from a Sabres team that we weren’t sure was going to show up and play a sound hockey game following their big loss to the Flyers. But they stepped up on the road in a back-to-back, and although it’s still early, the Blue and Gold find themselves back in the thick of things.
(Statistics provided by NHL.com)