As the chant from blue-and-white-clad fans reverberated inside KeyBank Center, “Go Leafs, go,” Don Granato called a timeout in the first period Tuesday night to try to get the Buffalo Sabres to regain their composure.
His players listened intently. Frustration was apparent in their facial expressions and body language. Their myriad mistakes led to three goals by the Toronto Maple Leafs in only 3:23, and their play in every area of the ice rapidly deteriorated after Ryan O’Reilly scored on the first shot against goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The Sabres eventually put Granato’s words into action on the ice, but it was too late. Luukkonen was replaced by Craig Anderson when the Maple Leafs scored their fourth goal on their 10th shot and they left Buffalo with a 6-3 win.
Rather than gaining ground in the playoff chase, the Sabres saw their two-game win streak snapped because of turnovers, poor defensive play and a glaring mistake by Luukkonen when he was beaten by Michael Bunting’s short-side shot for the Maple Leafs’ fourth goal in a span of 8:18.
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Buffalo’s issues at home continued. The Sabres' 11-15-2 record inside KeyBank Center is among the worst in the league. The Sabres (28-25-4) have games in hand over others competing for a wild-card playoff spot, but they must correct their bad habit of giving up goals in bunches.
"You can’t give them any opportunity," said Sabres winger Alex Tuch. "It’s a game of momentum, it’s a game of inches. When one team has the momentum, you’ve got to weather the storm and we didn’t as a unit. Individually, no one was ready. No one was ready to be a game-changer."
The problem began early in the first period when the Sabres made their first of many glaring defensive mistakes.
Mitch Marner collected a pass from John Tavares in the right circle, then passed to the slot where Tyson Jost was late to cover O’Reilly, who snapped a quick shot past Luukkonen 3:51 into the game.
O’Reilly, who finished with a hat trick and four points, scored his second goal since joining the Maple Leafs only 37 seconds later with a backhanded shot after he got behind the Sabres’ porous defensive coverage. The lead grew to 3-0 when Tavares beat two Buffalo skaters to a loose puck in the slot at 7:14.
The Sabres didn't have a shot on goal until 9:59 into the game, and they were outshot 15-8 in the first period.
"They had jump at the start, we didn’t," said Granato. "It was one of those nights where you could see we weren’t processing things well. I thought that was the case through the entire game. We didn’t look sharp and we didn’t feel sharp."
The timeout wasn’t enough to address the Sabres’ inability to stop the Maple Leafs’ transition offense. Mike Rielly threaded a stretch pass down the ice that split Buffalo’s defense and gave Bunting a breakaway. Luukkonen took a poor angle when Bunting snapped a shot over his blocker for a 4-0 lead 12:09 into the Maple Leafs’ first game in KeyBank Center since Nov. 13, 2021.
Anderson entered the game, but a goalie change wasn’t going to solve the Sabres’ careless play with the puck or their disjointed coverage in the defensive zone. Tuch almost broke through for their first goal when he poked a loose puck past goalie Ilya Samsonov, but it didn’t count because the linesman blew the whistle too soon.
And though the Sabres outshot the Maple Leafs 8-2 over the first 12 minutes of the second period, Samsonov stopped the few quality chances he faced. William Nylander scored Toronto’s fifth goal against a Buffalo penalty kill that entered Tuesday ranked 30th in the NHL.
"One guy was working; the other two guys, three guys were watching behind him, giving them too much time and space when they’re supporting each other all over the ice," said Tuch, speaking generally about the Sabres' play. "Honestly, it looked really easy for them out there. We allowed it to be easy for them."
The first-period unraveling cost the Sabres any opportunity of a comeback. They scored three goals in the third period, capped by Jeff Skinner's wrist shot from the left circle that cut the deficit to 5-3.
Jack Quinn spoiled the shutout with a shot from the right circle for his ninth goal of the season. Tuch added his 27th goal of the season, and 100th of his career, on a quick shot over Samsonov’s blocker to make it 5-2, but the Maple Leafs held behind O'Reilly's third goal to improve to 35-15-8 and they remain second in the Atlantic Division.
Granato said his team "wasn't smart" from the start. He didn't express concern, though. He liked the way the Sabres outplayed the Maple Leafs in the third period, turning three rush chances into goals while testing Samsonov with 13 shots. Thompson's wrist shot Samsonov's stick with 2:06 remaining in the third period, then O'Reilly scored an empty-net goal.
This was the first game in a brutal stretch of the schedule for the Sabres. Eleven of their next 12 games are against teams in contention for a playoff spot, and they're 2-4-1 in their last seven games. Their two wins last week included some long lapses in play. The Sabres lost a two-goal lead in Anaheim before winning 7-3, and they had only three shots on goal in a 28-minute span Saturday in San Jose. The power play is 7 for 52 in the past 18 games.
The math is on their side, but they have to get back to the way they were playing before the All-Star break. They outshot the Maple Leafs 13-6 in the third period and turned three rush chances into three goals. It was a snapshot of how they should approach each period. The Sabres weren't forcing bad passes into coverage, and they cleaned up their play in the defensive zone. Anderson stopped 17 of 18 shots after replacing Luukkonen.
As alarming as the loss was for fans, 27 games remain in the regular season. There's time for the Sabres to get back to playing their fast-paced, aggressive game. They're four points behind the Florida Panthers for the second-wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and have five games in hand. Each game matters, as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin told reporters after the loss, but the Sabres have to fix what went wrong before they play the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Thursday.
"We’re going to have to pick up the pieces and move on and that’s what you do," said Granato.
Here are other observations from the game:
1. Looking ahead
Fans are clamoring for General Manager Kevyn Adams to make a splash before the March 3 trade deadline, but is this team really one or two players away from correcting the problems that have crept into their game over the past month? Buffalo is 8-8-2 since Jan. 9, a trend that must change if it's going to make a playoff run.
A blockbuster isn't necessary. It doesn't make sense to deplete the organization's depth for a short-term rental, but the Sabres can add to their roster without trading top prospects or high draft picks. They should add a defenseman for the stretch run. Ilya Lyubushkin has played better since recovering from multiple injuries that impacted his performance, but the team hasn't received consistent play from the other spot on the third pairing. Their shopping list should also include a forward who can win faceoffs, kill penalties and bring energy on a night when the team needs it. A timely, impactful check goes a long way when a group is reeling like the Sabres were in the first period.
2. Struggles
Before answering a question from reporters, Granato said after the game that Luukkonen wasn't the reason for the loss. The 23-year-old wasn't at fault for three of the Maple Leafs' four goals while he was in net, but the Sabres needed more from him on the fourth. Luukkonen got beat short side on a shot that should have been stopped. Granato had to make the change, but he wanted the media and fans to know the logic behind that decision.
Granato switched to Anderson because he didn't have any other choice. However, Luukkonen has to be better. He couldn't get out of his crease enough to stop O'Reilly's first shot of the game and needed to show more on Bunting's shot that gave the Leafs a 4-0 lead. Luukkonen, like many of his teammates, has to be more consistent. He has an .855 save percentage in four appearances in February. And though Luukkonen was the Sabres' best player in San Jose, he has to sustain that level of play to keep the No. 1 job.
3. Outlook on defense
For now, the Sabres won’t have to add a defenseman from Rochester. Kale Clague left practice early Monday with a lower-body injury, but he was close to being available for the morning skate ahead of the game against Toronto, said Granato. Jacob Bryson drew into the lineup in place of Clague.
This is an important stretch for Bryson and Clague because Adams is evaluating the club's depth at the position. The Sabres are going to look for help from the outside if neither establishes some level of consistency with their game.
4. Next
The Sabres go back on the road to play the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
