Score: Leafs 2 | Sabres 3 (SO)
Shots: TOR 18 | BUF 33
Buffalo Sabres Goals:
- Power (Benson, Carrick)
- Quinn (Ostlund, McLeod) (PP)
- Quinn (Shootout Winner)
Toronto Maple Leafs Goals:
- Joshua (Robertson)
- Domi (Nylander, Knies)
Final Thoughts
Rivalry night in downtown Buffalo didn’t lack drama. After securing the opening marker, Toronto capitalized on Sabres turnovers to take a 2-1 lead. The often-subpar Sabres powerplay came up clutch as Quinn was able to bury a phenomenal no-look feed from Ostlund to even the game. Quinn would eventually be credited with the shootout winner after Tuch beat Woll glove side in the final attempt of the night.
It wasn’t their best game but it’s hard to complain about a victory. One area of concern is the Schenn-Stanley pairing. They have been a glaring weakness in two games played together and were directly responsible for the first goal against due to brutal defensive zone turnovers.
Back to the positives: this win marks a remarkable stretch of Buffalo avoiding consecutive regulation losses since December 8th (a 38-game span).
Tampa Bay and Montreal both lost in regulation extending the Sabres Atlantic division lead to 4 and 6 points on them respectively. Both teams have two games in hand on Buffalo, but the Sabres hold the regulation wins tiebreaker.
They are in excellent position with 15 games left to not only secure a playoff spot but home ice advantage in multiple playoff rounds.