TORONTO – Inside Scotiabank Arena, a capacity crowd wearing blue and white clamored for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ stars to chase the Sabres back to Buffalo. Each shot by Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner was accompanied by a loud, audible gasp in Toronto’s first game without capacity restrictions since December.
With one shot in the second period Wednesday night, Tage Thompson silenced most of the 17,122 in attendance, rifling the puck past goalie Petr Mrazek to threaten Toronto with its first home loss to Buffalo since 2018.
By the time the Sabres skated off the ice, there were swaths of empty seats because Maple Leafs fans filed to the exit during the third period of a 5-1 Buffalo win. The Sabres (17-30-8) snapped their six-game skid in their first trip to Toronto since Dec. 17, 2019, and beat the Maple Leafs for only the third time in their last 11 meetings.
"We made it hard on them, and they had to work for every chance they got," said Sabres winger Victor Olofsson. "I think we played the perfect road game."
There was no slow start for the Sabres. Playing for the first time since a difficult February that featured only two wins in 11 games, Buffalo issued another reminder that it can execute its up-tempo, stretch-the-ice style of play well enough to threaten the NHL’s elite teams that win with speed and skin, rather than strength and grit.
The Sabres were on the attack from puck drop and struck first with Jacob Bryson’s power-play goal on a wrist shot from the point at 2:26 into the game after Mattias Samuelsson drew a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. Most of Toronto’s mistakes occurred when it scrambled to regain possession in its own end.
When Buffalo didn’t have the puck, it was working tirelessly to get it back. The strategy – which is the foundation of how coach Don Granato wants the Sabres to play – was important against the Leafs, who entered Wednesday having scored the third-most goals in the NHL and were only two points behind the Atlantic Division’s first-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
Toronto, after all, can pick apart even the most disciplined teams, as the Sabres were reminded in the first period when Michael Bunting made a cross-ice pass to the right-circle to set up Rasmus Sandin for the tying goal at 11:48. Otherwise, Buffalo mostly shut down Toronto's top forwards. The Sabres had 80% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when Rasmus Dahlin, the club's top defenseman, was on the ice against Matthews.
Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander combined for only four shots on goal.
“It was terrible from start to finish," said Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. “Our team has been playing well, we have every reason to believe the team was ready to play. ... There was no real urgency, no real competitiveness.”
The Maple Leafs (35-15-4) made a few pushes in the game, most notably Pierre Engvall’s second-period breakaway in which Sabres goalie Craig Anderson made consecutive saves with his left leg pad. They struggled to win puck battles over the final 40 minutes, losing one-on-one situations to even the youngest Sabres.
Olofsson gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead when he scored on a rebound in front to cap an impressive shift that included some savvy puck movement. Olofsson, who now has eight goals this season, nearly scored again when his shot ricocheted off the post later in the second period.
"We were just trying to keep playing the same way," said Olofsson. "We didn’t want to back off at any point."
And it was Thompson who made silence fall over the crowd, as the Sabres’ first-line center fended off the Maple Leafs and tracked a loose puck at his feet in the slot before firing a shot that beat Mrazek for a 3-1 lead with 1:29 remaining in the second period. The goal was Thompson’s 23rd of the season, and he has 25 points in his last 24 games. His nine goals since Feb. 13 are tied for first in the NHL.
It occurred after Jeff Skinner hounded the puck in the offensive zone and Alex Tuch managed to prevent Toronto from clearing it past the blue line.
The Sabres added to their lead in the third period with Skinner forcing a turnover in the neutral zone and scoring on the breakaway with a shot over Mrazek’s blocker. The crowd waited for a Toronto response that never came.
It only got worse for the Maple Leafs. Defenseman Justin Holl overskated the puck while forechecking behind his net, allowing Dylan Cozens a clear path to corral it and pass in front to Kyle Okposo, who gave Buffalo a 5-1 lead with 8:12 remaining in regulation. Anderson earned his 298th career win by making 29 saves, and his younger teammates gained much needed confidence after a road trip that ended with losses to St. Louis and Dallas.
"I felt our guys have worked really hard, and I don’t think they necessarily deserved to be on the string they were on of not winning, but that’s the way life is," said Granato. "It’s the way this business is. … We pushed. We pushed hard. It mattered to them. They earned it."
Quinn looked as if he were in for an extended stay in Buffalo when the injury struck. But to get back into game shape and to help sort out multiple roster contingencies, it made more sense to initially send him to the AHL.
Here are other observations from the game:
1. Moving around
Moving Peyton Krebs to center was the right call. Casey Mittelstadt needs more time to regain the first-step acceleration that makes him a threat and it’s easier to reacclimate on the wing, where there are fewer responsibilities, particularly in the defensive zone. Krebs, meanwhile, made a greater impact at center, his natural position, and he helped put Olofsson in good spots Wednesday night. His line was exceptional on the Sabres’ second goal, as Olofsson cleared the front of the net and got to the rebound after Rasmus Dahlin’s cross-ice pass set up Rasmus Asplund for the shot.
2. On the board
Skating on the top pair and second power-play unit with Henri Jokiharju still out, Bryson took advantage of the increased ice time by scoring his first goal of the season on the point shot early in the game. It was Bryson’s first goal since March 6, 2019, and it comes at an important time. Bryson has an opportunity the rest of this season to show management that he should be part of their plans on defense in 2022-23. He played well on Dahlin's right side.
"I needed that, threw a puck at the net, which I think my game needs a little bit more of that, a lot more shots," said Bryson.
3. Around the boards
Defenseman Colin Miller participated in the morning skate as he works his way back from injury. ... Dahlin led the Sabres in ice time (21:13), and Skinner had a team-high six shots on goal. ... Cozens had two assists and has multiple points in two of the past three games. ... Tuch has 23 points in 23 games with Buffalo.
It’s a slate that has the potential to drive fans mad, as the franchise’s focus is on the future, rather than a playoff drought that will reach a league-record 11 seasons.
4. Next
The Sabres are scheduled to practice Thursday in preparation from their game Friday night in KeyBank Center against the Minnesota Wild.
