Red hot Toronto Maple Leafs beat Buffalo Sabres 4-2

maple leafs

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Free $30 Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Red hot Toronto Maple Leafs beat Buffalo Sabres 4-2. Here is the summary of the game played on Monday, April 3, 2017

 

1

2

3

OT

FINAL

TORONTO

3

0

1

0

4

BUFFALO

0

1

1

0

2

 

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY


ON THE SCORESHEET

Leo Komarov put the Maple Leafs on the board with a goal at 4:26 of the first period. He has registered four points (2 goals, 2 assists) over his last five games.

Auston Matthews scored Toronto’s second goal at 5:01 of the first period. The goal was Matthews’ 67th point of the season (39 goals, 28 assists), which established a new Maple Leafs rookie record for points in a season, surpassing the previous high of 66 points set by Peter Ihnacak in 1982-83. The goal also extended Matthews’ goal streak to five games, which ties the Maple Leafs record for longest rookie goal streak (5 games – Gaye Stewart, Nov. 1942).

James van Riemsdyk scored Toronto’s third goal of the night at 5:09 of the first period. He now has goals (3) in three consecutive games.

The Maple Leafs’ three first period goals occurred in a span of 0:43, which are the three fastest goals scored by the team in 2016-17. Prior to tonight, the three fastest goals scored by the Maple Leafs were scored in 1:59 on Jan. 6 at New Jersey (Toronto 4, New Jersey 2). The club record for fastest three goals (0:39) was set on Jan. 20, 1940 against the New York Americans.

Nazem Kadri picked up the primary assist on Komarov’s first period goal and later scored a power play goal at 5:50 of the third period. Kadri has assists (4) in four consecutive games and has registered an assist in six of his last seven games. He leads Toronto with 12 power play goals.

William Nylander recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ first period goal. Nylander has assists (2) in consecutive games and has registered at least one point in 22 of his last 29 games. Nylander’s assist was his 60th point of the season (22 goals, 38 assists).

Mitch Marner recorded his 42nd assist of the season on Kadri’s third period goal. Marner has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. The assist was Marner’s 60th point of the season (18 goals, 42 assists).

According to Elias Sports Bureau, with William Nylander and Mitch Marner both reaching the 60-point plateau in tonight’s game, the Maple Leafs are the second team in NHL history with three rookies (Auston Matthews, Nylander, Marner) to register 60-plus points in one season, joining the 1980-81 Quebec Nordiques.

Jake Gardiner had the secondary assist on Matthews’ goal in the first period. Gardiner has assists (4) in three consecutive games.

Tyler Bozak registered the lone assist on van Riemsdyk’s first period goal. The Maple Leafs are 21-3-4 in games when Bozak has recorded an assist in 2016-17.

Nikita Zaitsev picked up the secondary assist on Kadri’s goal on the power play. Zaitsev has assists (3) in three consecutive games.

Frederik Andersen made 20 saves in the win. The Maple Leafs are now 11-7-8 when Andersen stops 20-29 shots in a game.

SHOTS FIRED

The Maple Leafs outshot the Sabres by a 45-22 margin in all situations and by a 38-17 margin at 5-on-5.

Toronto had a 69-50 lead in shot attempts in all situations and a 59-42 lead in shot attempts at 5-on-5.

The Maple Leafs outshot their opponent tonight for the first time since March 7 vs. Detroit. Toronto had been outshot in 12 consecutive games since March 7 coming into tonight’s game, posting a record of 9-2-1 (19 Points) in that span.

Auston Matthews led the Maple Leafs with six shots on goal and 10 shot attempts.

ROAD SCHOLARS

The Maple Leafs wrap up their road schedule with a record of 19-14-8 in 2016-17.

Toronto is 11-3-3 in the first leg of back-to-backs this season.

Toronto’s all-time record is 75-102-18-11 in 206 games against the Sabres and 29-63-6-6 in games played in Buffalo. 

The Maple Leafs are 29-14-7 against the Eastern Conference this season and 18-8-3 against the Atlantic Division.

The Maple Leafs wrap up the back-to-back at Air Canada Centre tomorrow night (April 4) against the Washington Capitals.

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Faceoff Wins

11 (Bozak)

Faceoff Win Percentage

89% (Matthews)

Hits

4 (Martin)

Blocked Shots

5 (Zaitsev)

Takeaways

1 (Five players tied)

TOI

23:23 (Gardiner)

Power Play TOI

2:50 (Gardiner)

Shorthanded TOI

1:36 (Hunwick)

Shifts

30 (Polak)

5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage

73.9% (Marner – 17 for, 6 against)

 

RECORD WHEN…

The Maple Leafs were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play tonight. Toronto is 27-9-6 when not allowing a power play goal and 19-12-6 when scoring a power play goal this season.

Toronto is 2-4-0 when allowing a shorthanded goal.

Toronto is 29-6-9 when scoring first this season

The Maple Leafs are 25-1-9 when leading through a period and 31-1-9 when leading through two periods.

Toronto has a 12-12-7 record when outshooting their opponent.

The Maple Leafs are 3-1-1 on Monday nights.

OF NOTE…

The Maple Leafs have scored at least one power play goal in three consecutive games and in seven of their last 10 games.

Toronto has scored at least one first period goal in 15 of their last 16 games.

Brian Boyle won 60 percent of his faceoffs in the defensive zone (3 won, 2 lost) in tonight’s game. He was 3-for-3 in the faceoff circle in all zones against Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons.

Connor Carrick started 16.7 percent of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the offensive zone, which is the lowest percentage of all Toronto skaters in tonight’s game. Carrick had a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 56 percent (14 for, 11 against).

Auston Matthews was on the ice for 25 Toronto shot attempts at 5-on-5, which was the highest mark on the team. He had a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 73.5 percent (25 for, 9 against). Matthews led the Maple Leafs in faceoff win percentage (89%) and was 5-for-5 on the draw against Buffalo centre Jack Eichel.

James van Riemsdyk and linemate Mitch Marner were on the ice for the fewest Buffalo shot attempts (6) of all Toronto skaters at 5-on-5.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Tuesday, April 4 vs. Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. (TSN 4, TSN 1050)

Thursday, April 6 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. (TSN 4, TSN 1050)

Saturday, April 8 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:00 p.m. (Hockey Night in Canada, TSN 1050)

Sunday, April 9 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 6:00 p.m. (Sportsnet, FAN 590)

POSTGAME QUOTES:

HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK

On getting off to a quick start tonight:

Obviously, they played yesterday and we were here watching them, kind of like Washington before tomorrow. We knew if we could jump on them early – the League is so close. In the National Hockey League, back-to-backs are tougher. We were able to jump on them early and I thought their goaltender came in and really played well for them to give them an opportunity, but our guys were able to stick with it and get it done.

On the chemistry between Matthews and Nylander:

I think they play good together. Hyman gets them the puck over and over again and is always at the net. They’re skilled guys and they see things and make plays. Obviously, each line tonight scored a goal and the power play [scored] one. I think everybody was effective in today’s game. I thought [Boyle] and [Martin] really early were physical and that kind of set the tone for us.

On what has made Marner, Matthews and Nylander successful this season:

They’re good. That’s just the reality is they’re real good players and they’ve had good years and they’ve done a good job. We’re fortunate that we’ve got lots of good rookies, whether it be Zaitsev or Hyman or Brown or the guys you’re talking about. They’ve all had real strong years for us.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN (20 SAVES)

On the Leafs strong first period:

It was great. We’ve been playing sharp; we keep getting the chances and we put them home. It was great to have that start, not just how we were scoring the goals but I think we played really well, really quick, and we had the opportunity to get pucks on net and the offensive zone time for them. So, we were out of our zone pretty quick and taking it to them for most of the period.

On resisting the Sabres comeback effort in the second period:

Yeah, I mean, they’re going to come back and make it a game but we stood our ground pretty good. Good game for us. Big win. A huge two points.

On sweeping the road trip and returning home for the final four games of the regular season:

This week is going to be huge for us. It’s a tough week. We knew on this road trip we could get some points and, obviously, the more the better… the less we have to force ourselves to get in the last homestand there. We want to keep playing well and keep winning.

AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 GOAL)

On tonight’s performance:

I think we’ve been playing some pretty good hockey as of late and this is a pretty good time to be heating up for us. We just want to continue to play the right way and we’ve got some pretty important games here down the stretch.

On scoring three quick goals in the first period:

It was really important, especially when a team is playing a back-to-back. You want to make sure you get out there – a big part of our game is skating so I think that’s what we did really well. When you put up three goals there in a short span of time, it’s a good sign.

On Nylander’s pass to set up his goal:

I’ve been playing with him pretty much all year – we switched off for a little bit with him and [Connor Brown], but he sees the ice so well, he skates so well. It’s just another example of what he can do when he gets the puck.

On setting the Maple Leafs rookie scoring record tonight:

It’s great. I’ve played with some pretty good players so a lot of credit to them. I think the most important part is, for the team, we’ve been getting better and better each game, each segment. We’re in a good spot right now and we just want to continue to play well.

On setting the Maple Leafs rookie scoring record in the building where he was drafted:

It’s always nice to come here. Obviously in the last year there’s been some good memories. It’s always fun to play here – good atmosphere. You see a lot of blue jerseys and it was definitely a fun time.

WILLIAM NYLANDER (1 ASSIST)

On tonight’s game, his brother’s NHL debut with the Sabres:

It was a huge win for us and it was a lot of fun to get to see him play his first game.

On if he caught himself watching his brother during the game:

Yeah, of course. When you’re on the bench you’re watching every time he’s out there. I probably had the best seats in the house to watch him play in his first game so it was pretty cool.

On if he now owns bragging rights over his brother this summer:

I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see.

On the importance of the Leafs strong start:

I think it was good. Last time we came in here they played way better than us so it was good way for us to get going today.

Share with friends
You can publish this article on your website as long as you provide a link back to this page.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*