Maple Leafs defeat Sabres, gain in Atlantic Division
Matthews scores 200th NHL point to help Toronto close gap for second place
via NHL.com
The Toronto Maple Leafs moved closer to second place in the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist to reach 200 NHL points for the Maple Leafs (44-25-5), who trail the idle Boston Bruins by four points. Garret Sparks made 22 saves.
Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander scored, and Carter Hutton made 42 saves for Buffalo (31-33-9), which hasn’t won consecutive games since Dec. 11 and 13.
The power play connected for the first time in seven games to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead, with Mittelstadt scoring from a sharp angle along the goal line at 15:04 of the first period.
Matthews tied it 1-1 at 1:43 of the second when Andreas Johnsson’s no-look backhand pass hit his skate and redirected into the net.
John Tavares took advantage of a favorable bounce to give Toronto a 2-1 lead. William Nylander’s shot hit the crossbar, bounced off Jack Eichel to the left of the net and back towards Tavares alone in front at 18:32.
Mitchell Marner extended it to 3-1 with a shot from the slot 22 seconds into the third period.
Alexander Nylander took a pass from Vladimir Sobotka in the high slot to cut it to 3-2 at 5:37.
Zach Hyman made it 4-2 with a backhand into the empty net at 19:27.
Spicier than the hottest wing in Buffalo 🌶️#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/QZBq6oIVry
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 21, 2019
John Tavares (41-40—81) and Mitch Marner (25-61—86) are the first @MapleLeafs duo to each record 80 points in a season since Dave Andreychuk (53-46—99 in 83 GP) and Doug Gilmour (27-84—111 in 83 GP) in 1993-94. #NHLStats #TORvsBUF pic.twitter.com/dODsxZSW4T
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2019
The @MapleLeafs swept their season series against the Sabres for the first time in franchise history. #NHLStats #TORvsBUF pic.twitter.com/H2tLpGQW2P
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2019
John Tavares is the fourth Ontario-born player to record at least 80 points in his first full season with the @MapleLeafs. The others:
Doug Gilmour: 127 in 1992-93
Dave Andreychuk: 99 in 1993-94
Wilf Paiement: 97 in 1980-81#NHLStats #TORvsBUF pic.twitter.com/NdFzpDmK3b— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2019
Among players to debut with the @MapleLeafs franchise, only two players have reached the 200-point mark in fewer games than @AM34 (204 GP). #NHLStats #TORvsBUF pic.twitter.com/D6G1AgZsi0
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 21, 2019
A total team effort tonight as Leafs sweep the season series against the Sabres.
Check out the @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers.#LeafsForever #That649Feeling pic.twitter.com/2ygd4OzglX
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 21, 2019