Buffalo N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres returned to Toronto for the first time in two years to square off against their longtime rivals in the Maple Leafs.
Buffalo got off and running early and never looked back, growing their lead throughout the game.
The scoring opened in the first period when Jacob Bryson scored his first goal of the year on the power play. The Maple Leafs provided a quick answer, but it was all Sabres from there.
Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson each scored for Buffalo in the second period, then Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo netted their own in the third to seal a 5-1 win for the Sabres.
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Here are this game's three observations:
1.) Playing to the competition
On paper, the Maple Leafs are the best team in the NHL. They’ve been excellent on ice throughout the season as well, with a very impressive record of 19-5-1 on home ice. This was also the first time in 81 days that Scotiabank Arena was allowed at full capacity.
None of this seemed to phase the Sabres.
We’ve seen Buffalo play up or down to its opponent’s skill level more often than not this season. Examples include their 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, or their sloppy 4-0 loss to Montreal Canadiens.
This game was no exception, and the Sabres played like they were one of the best teams in the division. While this isn’t the best quality to have, it’s certainly not a bad thing when the team can go up against one of the best teams in the league, play to their standards, and end a six-game losing streak.
2.) Smarter shooting
The Sabres had another successful game of generating shots, 31 to be exact.
What’s better about this game than others before was the quality of these shots. Buffalo generated 20 scoring chances with these 31 shots throughout the game. Sure, there were still some shots that were blocked or right at the goaltender, but a lot more shots came from inside the slot and from high-danger areas on the ice.
The Maple Leafs have had very rocky goaltending in the past few games. Over the past four games Petr Mrazek had played, he allowed 11 goals on 95 shots. Meanwhile, Maple Leafs starter Jack Campbell has allowed 15 goals in his last five games started, and was pulled part way through his last two games.
It was important that the Sabres saw this and took advantage of it.
3.) Broke the streak
Plain and simple, this win is good for team morale.
The Sabres beat a long-time rival as the away team, they ended a long losing streak and finished the road trip on a high with another tough homestand coming up. Part of that homestand will include the return of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, which will prove to be tough tests for Buffalo.
This win will also give the Sabres something to build off of ahead of next week’s Heritage Classic game. It will also give the Maple Leafs something to remember going into that game as well.
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The Sabres kick off their homestand on Friday against the Minnesota Wild at KeyBank Center. The Wild are 31-17-3 this season and in third place in a heavily contested Central Division.
Puck drop for this game is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. EST with Schopp and the Bulldog on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
