Jack Eichel found the net twice, and Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Dahlin added two points each, but a late shorthanded goal by Kasperi Kapanen stifled a Buffalo Sabres' comeback attempt on Monday evening at Scotiabank Arena. After an impressive first period for the Sabres, they were out-played, out-shot and out-scored by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second as part of a 5-3 loss. John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Frederik Gauthier all found the net in a span of 2:04, giving the Leafs a comfortable lead in the second.
Buffalo opened the scoring on Eichel's 20th goal of the season as part of a dominant first period that saw the Sabres out-shoot the Maple Leafs 16-6. The tables turned drastically in the second period, starting at the 3:48 mark on a Tavares tip-in. Toronto's leading goal scorer added his 35th of the seaspm, catching enough of Jake Muzzin's shot to deflect the puck past Sabres goalie Carter Hutton.
Just 1:36 later, it was Matthews sweeping a shot into a wide-open Buffalo net following a defensive breakdown. Evan Rodrigues mismanaged the play in front of Hutton, sending the puck right to Matthews' stick for his 30th goal and the 2-1 lead. Toronto made it 3-1 only 28-seconds later on Gauthier's third of the year, sending the Toronto crowd into a frenzy and Hutton to the bench.
Linus Ullmark came on in relief, was immediately pelted with shot after shot, and finally cracked after, yet, another defensive lapse. Former Sabres forward Tyler Ennis cut through Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe for a clean breakaway and his ninth goal of the year.
Buffalo clawed its way back into the game on the backs of Reinhart and Eichel. A power play goal by Reinhart -- his fourth goal in two games -- cut the deficit in half at 17:25 of the second period. Eichel nearly added his second of the evening moments later, but fired a shot off the post.
The Buffalo captain didn't miss in the opening seconds of the third period, however, rushing down the ice after winning the faceoff and snapping a shot over Frederik Andersen's blocker. Eichel's second goal of the game made it 4-3 and also gave him 10 goals in 11 career games against the Maple Leafs.
Dahlin nearly tied it late in regulation on a slick pass from Eichel, but Andersen sprawled across the crease to keep the rookie defenseman out of the net. Moments later, Eichel tried another pass to Dahlin at the point, however the puck bounced off a referee's skate and sprung a breakaway for Kapanen, making it 5-3.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 19:07 - Jack Eichel (20) (PPG) (Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin)TOR: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 17:25 - Sam Reinhart (18) (PPG) (Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Dahlin)TOR: 3:48 - John Tavares (35) (Jake Muzzin, Travis Dermott); 5:24 - Auston Matthews (30) (Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson); 5:52 - Frederik Gauthier (3) (Jake Gardiner, Trevor Moore); 13:07 - Tyler Ennis (9) (Frederik Gauthier, Morgan Rielly)
Third Period:
BUF: 0:09 - Jack Eichel (21) (Jason Pominville, Rasmus Ristolainen)TOR: 17:42 - Kasperi Kapanen (19) (SHG) (Unassisted)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONETOR: 13:10 - John Tavares (Slashing - 2 min.); 19:00 - John Tavares (Too many men on the ice- 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 1:39 - Tage Thompson (Tripping - 2 min.)TOR: 15:28 - Jake Muzzin (Interference - 2 min.); Nikita Zaitsev (Tripping - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONETOR: 15:53 - Auston Matthews (Tripping - 2 min.)
Shots on Goal:
BUF: 34 (16, 10, 8)TOR: 33 (6, 17, 10)
Goalies:
BUF: Linus Ullmark - 19 saves; Carter Hutton - 9 savesTOR: Frederik Andersen - 31 saves
Power Plays:
BUF: 2 for 5 (40%)TOR: 0 for 1 (0%)
Three Stars:
- Frederik Gauthier - TOR
- Kasperi Kapanen - TOR
- Jack Eichel - BUF
What's Next:
The Sabres head right to Philadelphia for their second game in as many nights. New Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour is expected to make his debut in Tuesday's game against the Flyers. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. with pre-game coverage on WGR 550 starting at 6 p.m. with the Bulldog.
