Toronto outscores Buffalo in 3-0 shutout.
Score: Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Buffalo Sabres 0
Shots: TO: 22, BUF: 34
Buffalo Sabres Goals: None
Toronto Maple Leafs Goals: John Tavares (24), Nicholas Robertson (11), Auston Matthews (60)
Minus 1: Giving Up Early Leads
If it seems like the Sabres have a bad habit of letting opponents outscore them in the first period and then spend the rest of the night trying to catch up, they actually do. Buffalo has allowed 90 goals in the first period this season, an NHL-worst and has a negative-33 goal differential in matchups’ opening frames.
It was no different in this game, when Leafs’ forward John Tavares beat UPL with a wrister just five minutes in and the Sabres failed to answer. Back in December, Sion Fawkes of Sabre Noise wrote that the Buffalo Sabres will continue to keep losing until they fix their first period woes.
Over three months later, Fawkes’ prognostication has unfortunately come true. In contest after contest, the Blue and Gold cough up goals in the first 20 minutes and have to find a way to claw back.
Sometimes it works, like it did in the win over the New Jersey Devils and sometimes it doesn’t, like tonight’s humiliating loss against the Leafs. However, it’s a lot easier to win games when you’re not constantly playing from behind.
Minus 2: Weak Power Play Once Again
The Leafs gave the Sabres plenty of chances with the man advantage, providing six different Toronto minor penalties through most of 60 minutes. Buffalo could not score on any, despite getting some good chances the team’s forwards failed to capitalize on. Weak PP efforts have long stymied the Sabres and prevented them from mounting comebacks.
WesIsaLeo had the Comment of the Game: “Weak-sauce effort by the Sabres’ PP for the most part tonight”. The Sabres blew six 5-on-4 opportunities, getting some good shots on Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov at times but also frequently giving the puck away and letting the Leafs dump it out of their zone or even race down the ice for a short-handed chance.
Buffalo goalies shouldn’t have to brace themselves for opponent breakaways and shots on their net when the Sabres are on a power play, but far too often, that’s what happens.
Minus 3: No Goals
DBTB readers know I’m generous when posting Sabres’ goals in my recaps. Many of the site’s followers don’t get MSG, ESPN+, Hulu and other paid TV and streaming services and appreciate seeing the goals from the most recent games.
However, since the home team couldn’t get a single puck past Samsonov despite outshooting the Leafs 34 to 22, I don’t have one goal to share. Buffalo’s lack of offensive production was glaringly obvious in this loss and while the team’s forwards did throw a lot of pucks at the Toronto netminder, he turned into a goaltending wall the hosts couldn’t break through. Let’s hope tonight’s shutout is an anomaly going forward.
Final Thoughts
The Buffalo Sabres are a tale of two teams, outscoring and outplaying their opponents in one matchup followed by letting in early goals and blowing multiple scoring opportunities in the next. What makes this defeat even harder was that it came courtesy of the Leafs, with a fanbase that enjoys taking over KeyBank Center and loudly drowning out Sabres’ supporters in their own building.
Sabres’ fans are tired of every Toronto-Buffalo home matchup feeling like a game in Toronto, not Buffalo. Increasingly, they’re fed up with watching Montreal, Detroit and other fanbases invade their home arena, too.
Most of all, though, they’re sick of the team’s owner and GM tolerating mediocrity, overseeing the NHL’s longest playoff drought 13 years and counting. They’re frustrated with deciding who to root for in the postseason and once again, not able to pick their home town favorites.
Next up, the Washington Capitals come to town to face the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
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