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BUFFALO — No immaturity on the Maple Leafs’ part on his trip to Western New York.
Forget about that 9-3 loss against the Buffalo Sabres back on Dec. 21, the only game in the 2023-24 season that Toronto has allowed more than six goals.
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There were some blips on Saturday night at the KeyBank Center, but nothing like we saw three months ago, and the Leafs skated off with a 3-0 victory.
Auston Matthews put an exclamation mark on the win, scoring his 60th goal at 14:23 of the third period. It came off a scramble and into an open Sabres net as goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen failed to get back into position.
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Matthews became the ninth player in National Hockey League history to record at least two 60-goal seasons. He’s the first U.S.-born player to do it twice, having also scored his franchise-record 60 two years ago on his way to winning the Hart Trophy.
Not long after, the thousands of Leafs fans in the crowd started chanting “MVP! MVP!”
Matthews can set a team mark on Monday when the Leafs play host to the Florida Panthers.
Ilya Samsonov, in his quest to be the Leafs’ starting goalie for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, had another solid night in a 34-save performance.
It was the first Leafs shutout in Buffalo since Nov. 9, 2007, when Andrew Raycroft was in goal for a 3-0 victory.
And it was the Leafs’ 22nd road win, putting them one shy of tying the franchise record of 23, done several times and most recently in 2021-22.
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It ended a week that included a disorganized effort in a 6-3 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which preceded a much better performance in a 5-1 win versus the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
“(The 9-3 loss) is a reminder of what this opponent is capable of, the type of skill that they have,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said during his morning availability. “When you don’t play an organized game you open up the possibility for something like that to happen.
“Those kind of games, this (Sabres) team thrives. Whether it’s New Jersey or Buffalo or Columbus, there’s a ton of skill on these teams.
“You look at them as maybe teams that you should be able to win against. (But) they make it really hard if you don’t play with detail and structure and discipline in your game. That’s really what it’s about for us.”
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The Leafs had enough to beat the Sabres, a non-playoff team.
SAMSONOV STARS
If the playoffs started tomorrow, we can say with confidence that Samonov would be in goal.
Samsonov wasn’t overly peppered with shots on Saturday, but he was excellent when required.
Samsonov’s biggest save came in the second period, when he snared a JJ Peterka shot from the slot. Midway through the third, he made a couple of huge saves on Dylan Cozens, prompting Leafs fans to start the “Sammy, Sammy” chant that have been heard numerous times at Scotiabank Arena.
As he has been in just about every start since returning to the crease in January, Samsonov’s positioning was on point.
Barring a sharp decline in his play in the next couple of weeks — something that is anticipated by no one — the club should have every belief that Samsonov can be a difference-maker in the post-season.
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Joseph Woll, of course, would like a shot as well, but he’s going to have to be patient as long as Samsonov stays healthy and in the groove into which he has nicely settled.
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MILESTONE MARKER
Leafs captain John Tavares became the 225th player in NHL history to play in 1,100 career games, and it didn’t take him long to celebrate properly.
Tavares scored his 24th goal of the season and 451st of his career at 4:58 of the first period, putting his team up 1-0.
After taking a pass from William Nylander, Tavares snapped a shot past Luukkonen.
The Leafs built on that lead at 2:34 of the second period when Nick Robertson beat Luukkonen along the ice following a feed from Matthew Knies. That came after the line of Pontus Holmberg between Knies and Robertson initially had a disastrous shift in the defensive zone, turning the puck over several times before taking it the other way for the goal.
Leafs defenceman TJ Brodie, meanwhile, played in his 900th NHL game.
PK SHINES
Though the Sabres’ power play is among the worst in the NHL, the Leafs still could take some pride from killing off all six minors. That’s 10 kills in a row in the past three games.
“We’ve put a lot of time on it,” Keefe said. “The guys have just bought in. We’ve made some adjustments to it and the guys have responded really well despite a lack of practice time. The early returns have been good, but it’s a small sample to this point. We want to continue to build on it.”
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