Hamilton, ON (WGR 550) – Not only did the Buffalo Sabres come from behind twice to win the 2022 Heritage Classic over the Toronto Maple Leafs, they enjoyed themselves, and showed that being in a showcase NHL event wasn’t too big for them.
First, let’s start with how they arrived at the stadium. The picture tells the story:
It was around 30 degrees, but both teams knew they were going to have to deal with skating into gusts of 25-35 miles-per-hour. That didn’t matter to the young Sabres, though. When Vinnie Hinostroza gave Buffalo a 3-2 third period lead, the Sabres had scored all three of their goals into the wind.
Pat Malacaro and I were broadcasting from the glass, and it gave me the opportunity to see the Sabres' bench close up. When Toronto scored, I didn’t see anybody hanging their heads. I saw energy, and I saw talking and communication.
The Sabres were skating fast, and seemed to be frustrating the Leafs.
I found what happened in the stadium very interesting. When the game started, I couldn’t see an empty seat anywhere. The crowd was probably 98% Toronto jerseys, which is what I expected. What I didn't expect is many went home after the first period, which ended 0-0. It was almost like a novelty for maybe 5,000 fans that left.
Maybe they just wanted to be able to say that they were there.
The NHL does such a good job with the game and everything around it. The music was great, as Alessia Cara and Willow performed. Lindsay Ell sang the anthems and was joined by the Canadian Olympic women’s gold medal hockey team for the signing of "O Canada".
It was a winter wonderland for the first period, but the snow was causing problems. Both the Sabres and the Leafs want to skate and move the puck fast. Snow was accumulating on the ice so quickly, pucks would stop sliding because of the snow causing turnovers.
The NHL had the ice in great shape, but it was so cold, they had to repair some chips as they went along.
The youngsters came to the forefront again.
Rasmus Dahlin and Henri Jokiharju frustrated Auston Matthews throughout the afternoon. Matthews did score, but you could see the frustration on his face. It ended with jim going after Dahlin in the third period, where he cross-checked him in the neck. That play is going to put Matthews in front of the NHL's Department of Player Safety for supplemental discipline.
Dylan Cozens wasn’t having it, either.
A few minutes after Matthews got into it with Dahlin, Cozens decked the Leafs forward at center ice to let him know that attacking Dahlin isn’t OK. That led to a fight with Mike Bunting, who realized messing with Cozens when he’s in a rage might not be a good idea.
Peyton Krebs scored twice in this game, giving him three goals in his last two games and six on the season.
Mattias Samuelsson did a nice job throughout the game, especially on the penalty kill. He’s just another young player that thrived in the atmosphere.
Watching Krebs and Craig Anderson at the podium together just showed how close this team is getting.
Head coach Don Granato is cautiously optimistic that his young team is turning a corner. They have two wins against Toronto, and victories over the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights in their last six games.
Yes, sandwiched in there are losses to the Los Angeles Kings and Florida Panthers, but Granato challenged them after the Florida game. The team got trounced, and he stressed the importance of a good response.
Sitting there watching them close up on Sunday, I’d say so far, so good.
