Saber roared back to defeat the Maple Leafs 4-3

TORONTO – Sheldon Keefe watched as his team decisively erased a two-goal deficit on the big stage Saturday night.

The Maple Leafs head coach was not at all pleased with his team’s continued performance 48 hours later.

Alex Tuch scored twice on his return from injury on Monday as the Buffalo Sabers came from 2-0 down in the second half to beat Toronto 4-3.

The Leafs are confident of finishing second in the Atlantic Division and gearing up for the playoffs, while the Sabers are desperately trying to stay in the post-season race.

Toronto jumped ahead at the start of Monday’s second period, but then fell 4-0 and lost 23-7 over the next 27 minutes of action.

“There’s enough to play here, right?” said Keefe. “It’s still pretty tight (in the standings) that if you take your feet off you not only lose home ice, but you have other teams (chasing) as well.”

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Those performances stood in stark contrast to Saturday’s 7-4 win over Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers that saw Toronto respond after trailing 3-1.

“Maybe it’s just not the same level of urgency,” Keefe said. “Maybe you don’t have the best, so you have to play with intelligence.

“You have to play very smart, manage the game.”

Dylan Cozens, with one goal and one assist, and Jack Quinn also scored for Buffalo (33-28-5), who had 25 saves from Craig Anderson. Owen Power and JJ Peterka each added two assists.

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“Stay patient,” said Tuch, who missed eight games with a lower body strain but scored six goals and three assists in his last six appearances since February 15.

“We’re just sticking to it.”

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Auston Matthews, with a goal and two assists, William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok returned for Toronto (41-17-8), while Mitch Marner added two assists. Matt Murray made 25 saves.

“Stop working,” said Jarnkrok. “It’s hard to win if you don’t work.”

The Sabers are going 1-5-1 over their last seven games – a slump that likely means the franchise’s NHL streak of missing the playoffs will be extended to 12 straight seasons – but put in a solid performance to help keep their flickering hopes alive.

“We’ve made defense a bigger focal point,” said Sabers head coach Don Granato. “Our guys recognized tonight the way they can influence him more and more as the game goes on.”

The Leafs defeated Buffalo by a combined score of 11-5 in the teams’ previous two meetings, including a 6-3 victory on February 21.

Tonight follows a different script.

After fighting for an equalizer early in the third quarter through Tuch’s 29th goal of the season, the Cozens scored his 26th to give the visitors their first lead.

The Sabers then turned to power play, with Tuch adding his second goal of the night for the big forward’s first 30-goal campaign.

The Leafs finally came back as the clock wore on, but Anderson stopped Michael Bunting 2-on-0 with John Tavares, who also failed to score early in the third quarter.

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Nylander scored his 35th from a tight angle late in regulation, but Buffalo held on for two big points.

“This group knows they can score goals,” said Granato. “We are trying to sell them that other side and have faith in that belief.”

Matthews opened the scoring early in the second set with a shaky game for 31st. Jarnkrok then doubled the lead just over three minutes later when he fired five holes for his 15th.

Buffalo, however, pressed back impressively with 16 direct shots on target to close out the period, including Quinn scoring his 13th touchdown.

“I thought it was a 50/50 fight, just a little sloppy with the puck,” said Matthew of the change in direction for Toronto. “They tilted the ice towards them and now we’re just catching up from that point.”

Anderson stopped Nylander on Toronto’s next shot early in the third quarter – the Leafs went 17 minutes without testing the 41-year-old Buffalo goalkeeper – before Tuch tied things up moments later.

Murray thwarted Tage Thompson at the break to keep Toronto level, but the Cozens made it 3-2 shortly thereafter to lead the Sabers not going down.

“We were 2-0 up with 10 minutes left in the second half – on home ice,” said Keefe.

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“Got to win that game every time.”

THE ANTHEM SOUNDS

Sound issues at the Scotiabank Arena meant there was no audio for a screening of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the puck drop, but fans stepped in a cappella and sang the US national anthem before the problem was fixed in time. “O Canada.”

“It was amazing,” said Matthews, who grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Just everyone coming together.

“Really cool move.”

NEXT

Leafs: Host Colorado on Wednesday.

Sabers: Visit Washington on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 13, 2023.

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Hadwin Floyd

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