Toronto Maple Leafs avenged their defeat against Buffalo Sabres. In the second of back-to-back games against the Sabres, Sheldon Keefe’s guys won 2-1, after overtime. It was a hard game, in which both sides deserved to triumph, and had their own moments of domination.
John Tavares was the one who brought the victory to the hosts, 1:45 inside the OT. It was his 10th goal of the season, and he also had an assist earlier in the game. Kasperi Kapanen sent a pass to Tavares, who netted from the high slot, with the puck entering the goal off Carter Hutton’s glove.
The game was exciting, with the hosts being better in the opening two periods, and with the Sabres capturing the final frame. We need to say that the goaltenders did a pretty good job. Frederik Andersen had 29 saves, while on the other side, Hutton ended the night with astonishing 41.
Tavares was especially praising his goalie after the match, saying that he saved Maple Leafs in the final moments of the contest.
“He gave us a chance to win, especially in the third period, where we had to defend,” Maple Leafs forward said. “He made some big saves, even at the end of the second (period), too. That’s why he’s one of the best goalies in the league.”
After an opening sequence in which there weren’t any goals, William Nylander scored for the home team 5:30 into the second. It was a power-play goal that came following Auston Matthews’ pass. Once Nylander took the puck, he went for the net, and scored with a backhand. Tavares made a secondary assist here, his 400th in career.
The game saw more excitement in the third, with both sides wanting to score. However, the Sabres were the ones to strike, with Rasmus Ristolainen’s score at 6:58. He made a fine individual effort, creating a space for him for a backhand that beat Andersen.
Toronto’s players had an opportunity to stun the hosts with just 12 seconds to go, but Marco Scandella, Sabres’ defenseman cleared the puck from the goal line.
Nevertheless, the hosts got away with a win in the end, while the Sabres posted the third loss over the recent four games.
“I think we played a pretty good three periods and maybe we should have earned the win, but that didn’t happen,” Ristolainen said. “It’s a little frustrating but we got a huge point on the road.”
The Maple Leafs are playing good since Keefe took over the wheel from Mike Babcock. They have four wins in the previous five games, and the newly-appointed coach brought back the winning mentality to the locker room.
Up next, Toronto (13-11-4) head for Philadelphia to meet the Flyers on Tuesday. After that, they are coming back home to face Avalanche on the very next day.
On the other side, the Sabres (12-10-5) clash with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and following that, have a contest against the Calgary Flames on the road on Friday.
