Toronto Maple Leafs Come From Behind To Beat Buffalo Sabres 5-3

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

–       John Tavares put the Maple Leafs on the board at 3:48 of the second period. Tavares has points (2-1-3) in three consecutive games. In 20 games against Atlantic Division opponents, Tavares has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists).

–       Auston Matthews scored the second Toronto goal of the night at 5:24 of the second period. He has goals (2) in two consecutive games and points (3-2-5) in three consecutive games. Matthews’ goal in the second period is his 30th of the season, making him the first player in Toronto franchise history to begin his career with three consecutive 30-goal seasons, per NHL Stats.

–       Frederik Gauthier scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 5:52 of the second period and later registered the primary assist on Ennis’ second period goal. Gauthier has registered nine (2-7-9) of his 12 points on home ice this season. Tonight’s game is his first career multi-point game.

–       Tyler Ennis scored the fourth Toronto goal of the night at 13:07 of the second period. Ennis has goals (2) in two consecutive games. His goal is his second career goal against the Sabres after playing for Buffalo from 2008-17.

–       Kasperi Kapanen recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ second period goal and later scored the fifth Maple Leafs goal of the game shorthanded at 17:42 of the season. Kapanen has assists (2) and points (1-2-3) in two consecutive games. His shorthanded goal is his second of the season. Tonight’s game is his 12th multi-point game of the season.

–       Jake Muzzin registered the primary assist on Tavares’ second period goal. Muzzin has assists (2) in two consecutive games. He has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in three games against the Sabres in 2018-19.

–       Travis Dermott collected the secondary assist on Tavares’ second period goal. Dermott has recorded 10 (3-7-10) of his 17 points on home ice this season. The assist gives Dermott a new single-season career-high for assists (13).

–       Andreas Johnsson had the secondary assist on Matthews’ second period goal. Johnsson has points (2-1-3) in three consecutive games. He has 11 points (5-6-11) in 12 games during the month of February.

–       Jake Gardiner registered the primary assist on Gauthier’s second period goal. Gardiner’s assist gives him 200 career NHL assists. He has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in two games against Buffalo this season.

–       Trevor Moore picked up the secondary assist on Gauthier’s second period goal. Moore was recalled earlier today from the Toronto Marlies where he has notched 39 points (23 goals, 16 assists) in 46 games this season.

–       Morgan Rielly had the secondary assist on Ennis’ second period goal. Rielly has assists (4) in three consecutive games. Rielly has 30 points (6 goals, 24 assists) in 32 games on home ice this season. His assist is his 46th of 2018-19, which ties his career-high for assists in a season set in 2017-18.

–       Connor Brown registered the lone assist on Kapanen’s third period goal. Brown has recorded 10 of his 16 assists against Eastern Conference opposition this season.

–       Frederik Andersen stopped 31 shots to earn his 29th victory of 2018-19. Andersen’s win is his 100th win as a Maple Leaf.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

–       The Maple Leafs are 19-12-1 at home this season.

–       Toronto’s all-time record is 79-104-18-11 in 212 games against the Sabres and 48-40-12-5 in 105 games played at home.

–       Toronto is 23-12-3 against the Eastern Conference this season and 11-6-3 against the Atlantic Division.

–       Tonight’s attendance was 19,026.

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

RECORD WHEN…

–       The Maple Leafs were 3-for-5 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal and were 0-for-1 on the power play tonight. Toronto is 2-1-1 when allowing multiple power play goals this season and 20-15-4 when not scoring a power play goal.

–       Toronto is 4-0-0 when scoring a shorthanded goal.

–       Toronto is 12-15-3 when their opponent scores the first goal of the game.

–       The Maple Leafs are 8-10-3 when trailing after one period and 29-0-0 when leading after two periods.

–          Toronto is 21-8-4 when outshot by their opponent.

–          The Maple Leafs are 5-3-0 in Monday games.

OF NOTE…

–          The Maple Leafs’ four goals in the second period tied the club’s season-high for goals in a period (4 – 5x).

–          Toronto’s line of Zach Hyman, Mitch Marner and John Tavares started 11.1 percent of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.

–          Jake Gardiner was on the ice for a team-high in Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 (21). Gardiner had a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 48.4 percent (21 for, 22 against).

–          Auston Matthews was 5-for-7 (71%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Buffalo centre Evan Rodrigues.

UPCOMING GAMES:

–       Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 p.m. vs. Edmonton Oilers (Sportsnet, FAN 590)

–       Thursday, February 28, 7:00 p.m. at New York Islanders (TSN4, TSN 1050)

–       Saturday, March 2, 7:00 p.m. vs. Buffalo Sabres (Hockey Night in Canada, TSN 1050)

–       Monday, March 4, 9:00 p.m. at Calgary Flames (TSN4, FAN 590)

–       Wednesday, March 6, 9:00 p.m. at Vancouver Canucks (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)

POSTGAME QUOTES:

HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK

On the fourth line as a catalyst for the win:

Oh, for sure. We obviously had a tough start and, so, it was good [to get the win]. I thought Moore really brought energy, that group played with a lot of pace here tonight and helped us a lot.

On the team putting its faith in the group it has coming out of the trade deadline:

I think what you do every year as a management team is – no one on the outside ever knows what really goes on. What you do is everything you can to help your team. In the end, you make the best decisions you possibly can to help your club and you’ve always got to weight the cost with the benefit. We’re ecstatic to have the opportunity that we have. We like our team, we still think there’s a ton of growth from within, we think we can play a lot better and we look forward to that. I think Moore can really help our hockey club. I don’t know the Petan kid as good, but we’re excited to add him as a member of our group and the group we have from within. We really feel we can play a lot better and we look forward to the opportunity to show it.

On Frederik Gauthier’s growth this season:

We’re going to find out now because you get an opportunity. Again, it’s got to be every night. Freddy has got to become a good faceoff guy for us and become a guy we can put on in the defensive zone and not worry about who the other team is coming with. That’s important. Obviously, he has come a long way in the three or four years – I don’t know if it’s three or four – but he’s got a long way to go. As long as he competes, he’s a big man, he’s usually on the defensive side of the puck. We’re trying to get as much speed as we can around him because that’s important for him.

On the team needing to play heavier:

For sure, but there’s two parts to it. Zach Hyman, we’d like to have one on each line, but they just don’t make them like that. So, I think [Johnsson] has come a long way in that area, we need [Kapanen] to do more of that, but we have a lot of guys – Willy [Nylander] can really cycle the puck, he needs to commit to doing it, Matthews is way more physical on offence than he used to be and that’s important as well. We just need to continue to grow that throughout the group. I think Moore, for the size of him, has a real heavy keister and hangs on to the puck pretty good there. We need more of that.

On Andersen becoming more of a leader within the group:

I went to the Worlds last year and met with Freddie and his mom and dad and his family there. We talked a ton about that. Leadership has nothing to do with what you say, I really do believe that. It has to do with what you do and how you are in big moments, how you are every day, how hard you compete, how mentally tough you are as a goaltender. So, that’s the challenge for him every day. In the end, your goaltender has to be one of your best players, if not your best, for you to have success. That’s a challenge for him and he’s excited about the opportunity.

FREDERIK ANDERSEN (31 SAVES)

On the cross-crease saves he made in tonight to give the team a chance to come back:

You try to save it when it comes down to our end. We were able to get a good amount of momentum in the second there with some quick goals and some insurance.

On the rhythm he’s in after his seventh straight start:

I feel good. Just trying to take it one game at a time and get some rest when we do get days off and make sure I recover.

TYLER ENNIS (1 GOAL)

On his line’s play tonight:

Yeah, it was good. I think [Moore] provided a lot of energy. He was fun to play with and [Gauthier] played great in both ends and that’s what we’re going to have to do moving forward.

On the breakaway pass he received from Gauthier:

Yeah, it was a great pass. A little sauce to spring me for a breakaway, was a great play by him and he had a great night.

FREDERIK GAUTHIER (1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST)

On his goal tonight:

Yeah, I got the puck and just tried to shoot it on net. I was open, tried to get it there and it worked. Stuff you work on in practice, try to get that backhand going and it worked tonight.

On his confidence level:

I feel it’s my first full year here and it’s been working well so far. Keep building every day and it’s been going well.

AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 GOAL)

On the play of the fourth line tonight:

They were huge for us tonight, probably our best line. A couple of big goals by [Gauthier] and [Ennis] and, I mean, it all started there in the D-zone, especially on Enzo’s goal. They were huge for us tonight and [Moore] is a nice addition for us with that speed. He just makes stuff happen every time he’s out there.

On where the team found momentum after the first period:

I think we just got playing. I think we were kind of flat there in the first, I’m not really sure why, but just came out flat and they were working harder than us. We just came in the locker room, everybody holds each other accountable in here and we knew we had another level to get to in that next period. We came out strong and obviously scored a couple of big goals. We took too many penalties tonight to let them get back in it, but momentum-wise, I thought that second period was one of our best periods.