Buffalo Sabres Vs Maple Leaf:The Battle Between Two Elephants One Falls Woefully See Why..
The Buffalo Sabres went scoreless on six powerplays in their 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov was outstanding, turning away all 34 Sabres shots. To pour salt in the wound, the Toronto fans flooded the stands at KeyBank Center to form a primarily Maple Leafs-backed crowd
The Maple Leafs scored one goal in each period, with John Tavares getting things started in the first. He was left open in the slot and made no mistake with his wrister to beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen clean.
Nicholas Robertson scored on a breakaway in the second period, as he slipped past the Buffalo defense in transition.
The final goal was a big one, as Auston Matthews registered his 60th goal of the season. The heavy Leafs contingent gave their star player a standing ovation, with some hats hitting the ice and an M-V-P chant breaking out around the arena.
It’s the second time Matthews has reached 60 goals in his career, making him the ninth player in NHL history to do so.
Samsonov looked calm and poised throughout the entire game. He’s come a long way this season. He struggled early on for the Leafs and was demoted to the AHL. His recall was out of necessity due to injury, and he’s since solidified the starting job again.
Per Evolving-Hockey, Samsonov saved 3.62 goals above expected. That’s a massive one-game number for the Maple Leafs, although the Sabres are no stranger to quality goaltending this season.
As for the Sabres, the players with chances were aplenty. Most notably, JJ Peterka and Dylan Cozens missed glorious opportunities when it looked like Samsonov was down and out.
Buffalo’s top scorers had plenty of chances and gave up plenty of chances, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in tomorrow’s edition of Sabres Grades