The Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Buffalo Sabres on the road, looking to clinch their first division title in a traditional season format since 2000. The Maple Leafs come into this game highly motivated, needing just one point to secure the division. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were also chasing milestones—Matthews aiming for his 400th career goal, and Marner looking to hit 100 points on the season.
As for Buffalo, they were hoping to snap a three-game losing streak and force the Maple Leafs to try and clinch the division Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings rather than against them. They’re also looking to end the season on a high note by winning their final two games.
Game Recap
The first period started out with both teams playing cautiously. Through the first 10 minutes, there weren’t many chances either way. The pace started to pick up around the midway point, and with more open ice came more scoring opportunities. Buffalo controlled the pace for much of the period, looking like the hungrier team. As the period wound down, Toronto began to push back. After a penalty was called on them, Buffalo took one of their own, sending the Leafs to the power play. It looked like Marner and Matthews might hit their milestones on the same play, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stood tall and kept the game scoreless. As the period ended, Buffalo led in shots 13-8.
The second period opened similarly, with a slow pace. Just two and a half minutes in, the Sabres took another hooking penalty, giving Toronto their second power play of the night. Buffalo killed it off, and the game returned to a back-and-forth pace. At 14:15, Scott Laughton sent a saucer pass to Steven Lorentz, who ripped it past Luukkonen to open the scoring. The final five minutes of the period saw the Maple Leafs generate several chances, but Luukkonen shut the door to keep his team within one.
The third period started with Buffalo controlling puck possession for the first five minutes, including a power play, but they couldn’t solve Anthony Stolarz, who continued his stellar play. The physicality ramped up after Rasmus Dahlin hit Laughton hard into the boards. Laughton was shaken up but stayed on the ice following an icing call. After that, Toronto looked determined to finish every check.
Related: Maple Leafs Officially Clinch First Place in Atlantic Division
The game flipped when Marner scored to record his 100th point of the season. Just minutes later, Matthews scored his 400th career goal on an empty net. Moments after that, Nick Robertson added another to make it 4-0. With the win, the Maple Leafs clinched the Atlantic Division, and Stolarz extended his shutout streak to three straight games.
What’s Next for Both Teams?
The Sabres will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night in their final game of the season. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs return home to face the Red Wings to close out their regular season. Now that Toronto has clinched the division, it’s expected that the team will rest several of their star players before the playoffs begin this weekend against the Ottawa Senators.
