St. Thomas, Ontario (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres lost their first preseason game on Wednesday night, as the Toronto Maple Leafs got the last laugh, 5-2, in the 2023 Kraft Hockeyville matchup at the Joe Thornton Community Centre in St. Thomas, Ontario.
Toronto opened the scoring 7:41 into the affair when defenseman Conor Timmins' wrist shot from the point fluttered in behind Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The Sabres answered back five minutes later with a goal from a defenseman of their own. Jeremy Davies picked his corner, and potted Buffalo's first goal of the evening in off the post past goalie Martin Jones.
Neither side found twine again until the Leafs struck for a pair of breakaway goals just 1:28 apart past the halfway point of the second period.
First, it was forward Sam Lafferty scoring while his team was shorthanded. Forward Max Domi followed suit 88 seconds later, as he was met with a pass immediately after exiting the penalty box.
Now trailing by two, the Sabres needed an answer before period's end and got it from defenseman Henri Jokiharju. His first of the preseason came off a wrist shot that made its way through traffic to cut the deficit to 3-2.
That would be as close as the Sabres would get for the rest of the night, as the Maple Leafs padded their lead with two more goals in the final period of play.
Kyle Clifford greeted goalie Michael Houser just 2:18 into his night to make it a 4-2 Toronto edge.
Then with less than a minute in regulation and on a late power play, Timmins iced the game with a one-timer for his second goal and fourth point of the night.
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GAME RECAP:
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 12:38 - Jeremy Davies (1) (Dylan Cozens)
TOR: 7:41 - Conor Timmins (1) (Sam Lafferty)
Second Period:
BUF: 16:42 - Henri Jokiharju (1) (Victor Olofsson, Lukas Rousek)
TOR: 12:38 - Sam Lafferty (1) SHG (Matthew Knies, William Lagesson); 14:06 - Max Domi (1) (Conor Timmins)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
TOR: 2:18 - Kyle Clifford (1) (Conor Timmins, Fraser Minten); 19:24 - Conor Timmins (2) PPG (Easton Cowan, Pontus Holmberg)
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 4:20 - Jeremy Davies (High-sticking - 2 min.); 18:21 - Tyson Jost (Hooking - 2 min.)
TOR: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
TOR: 11:59 - Max Domi (High-sticking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 5:46 - Peyton Krebs (Cross-checking - 2 min.); 18:59 - Jeremy Davies (Roughing - 2 min.)
TOR: 7:27 - Alex Steeves (Goaltender interference - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Conor Timmins - TOR
2.) Sam Lafferty - TOR
3.) Matthew Knies - TOR
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What's next:
The Sabres head to Pittsburgh to visit the Penguins on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be heard on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.