The Good, Bad & Ugly in Maple Leafs’ 6-3 Win vs. the Sabres

The Toronto Maple Leafs won their third game in a row and sixth in their last seven when they ventured into Buffalo and came away with a 6-3 victory over the Sabres.

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The Good (Domi, Robertson & McMann)

For the second game in a row, all three members of the third line—Max Domi, Nick Robertson, and Bobby McMann—scored goals. For the third game in a row, this line was Toronto’s best.

The first half of the game was all Maple Leafs as they built a 5-1 lead by the 10:47 mark of the second period. They chased Buffalo starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with four goals on just 13 shots. The third line scored all of their goals against Luukkonen, and Auston Matthews added a power-play goal. Max Pacioretty scored the fifth Toronto goal on former Maple Leaf James Reimer.

In the three games they have played together, Robertson has six points (3G, 3A), Domi has five points (3G, 2A), and McMann has five points (2G, 3A).

Matthews, Nylander, and Marner Also Contributed

The big boys did their fair share of scoring as well. William Nylander had a goal and two assists. Mitch Marner notched two assists, and Auston Matthews had one goal. Marner is now third in the league in assists with 34 and eighth in points with 44. He is presently on a 109-point pace for the season. Nylander’s goal was his 21st of the season, which has him third in goals. He’s two goals behind league leader Leon Draisaitl.

Matt Murray played in his first NHL game in one year, eight months, and 18 days. He did alright. He wasn’t perfect, but he was good enough to get the win.

The Bad (The Sabres Came Back)

After building the 5-1 lead, the Maple Leafs let the Sabres back into the contest, allowing them to score the next two goals and make a game of it. Things could have ended up much differently as the Sabres put the puck in the Toronto net five times in total but had two goals called back.

Buffalo thought they had scored to tie the game at 1-1 just 1:05 after Toronto took a 1-0 lead early in the first period when Alex Tuch beat Murray from the slot. I was furiously scribbling a note at the time that the referees missed a high-sticking call by Jason Zucker on Chris Tanev just prior to the goal being scored. The goal was signaled as a good goal, and there were no other whistles on the play.

The Sabres Disallowed Goals Might Have Made a Difference

However, the four officials had a meeting right after the goal. With no whistle blown, it appears it was one of the linesmen who caught the high stick. In the end, the goal was disallowed. Additionally, a double minor was called on Zucker. Tanev was bleeding as a result of the contact with the stick. On the ensuing power play, Matthews scored to put Toronto up 2-0. That was a two-goal swing in the Maple Leafs’ favor.

With 3 ½ minutes left in the third period, it appeared that Owen Power had scored his second goal of the period with a one-timer from the point. That “goal” would have pulled the Sabres to within a goal at 5-4. But Craig Berube challenged the goal because of goalie interference. The replay showed that as Power was taking the shot, Sam Lafferty glided through the crease, and his skate caught Murray’s stick. Once again, the goal was disallowed.

If either of those two goals had been allowed to stand, the outcome of this game could have been vastly different.

The Ugly (The Sabres Have Lost 12 Games in a Row)

This loss to the Maple Leafs had to be one of a growing string of ugly games for Sabres fans, as the Sabres have now lost 12 games in a row. On November 23rd, the Sabres defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2 to win seven of nine games. At that point, they were in third place in the Atlantic Division. Since then, Buffalo has gone 0-9-3 and is now ten points out of a playoff spot.

They are now in last place in the Eastern Conference. Unless they can put together a winning streak of similar length, the Sabres will miss the playoffs for a league-worst 14th season in a row.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

The Maple Leafs return home to take on the New York Islanders tonight. The Islanders will be well-rested as their last game was on Tuesday in Carolina. After losing that game 4-0 and falling five points out of a playoff spot, the Islanders will be desperate for a win.

Toronto remains at home and takes on the Winnipeg Jets on a Prime Video Monday night before they get three days off for Christmas.

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