Buffalo took a lead late in the first period despite some strong play from Toronto.
The Leafs fought back and tied it through William Nylander in the second, before pulling away in the third period, getting some revenge on the Sabres for their loss the week previous.
| Team | Chances | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | ES | ESClose | ESCh% | NZEnt% | ContEnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 12 | 71.4% | 48.7% | 48.1% |
| Buf | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 28.6% | 51.3% | 19.8% |
Toronto had a very impressive game, carrying the play in all aspects. They finished a long way ahead in Corsi and shut down the Sabres’ offense at ES. They had far more controlled entries than Buffalo as well, limiting the Sabres to only a handful over the three periods.
After a couple of early chances from the Sabres, Toronto took command, with an 11-2 run of chances that lasted until the start of the third period. Buffalo then were able to generate some offense on the powerplay, but after the Leafs got a successful kill, they went back on the offensive, generating the last five chances of the game, including three goals.
| Period | Time | ST | SO | Team | How | State | T1 | T2 | T3 | T4 | T5 | T6 | O1 | O2 | O3 | O4 | O5 | O6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:29 | 0 | 0 | Buf | GOAL! Gionta from Foligno | ES | 16 | 20 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 54 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 82 |
| 1 | 14:34 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Greening deflects Gardiner shot wide | ES | 8 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 51 | 17 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 44 | 47 |
| 1 | 13:15 | 0 | 1 | Buf | Reinhart drives | ES | 11 | 15 | 31 | 39 | 44 | 52 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 31 |
| 1 | 08:17 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Smith wide from loose puck | ES | 8 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 51 | 12 | 22 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 47 |
| 1 | 08:03 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Greening wide from Smith | ES | 8 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 51 | 12 | 22 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 47 |
| 1 | 07:40 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Michalek from Smith | ES | 8 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 51 | 12 | 22 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 47 |
| 1 | 07:01 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Soshnikov drives | ES | 31 | 40 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 52 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 31 | 55 | 90 |
| 1 | 03:27 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Hyman wraparound | ES | 11 | 15 | 20 | 29 | 31 | 39 | 22 | 29 | 31 | 44 | 47 | 82 |
| 1 | 01:31 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Kadri deflects Rielly shot wide | ES | 31 | 40 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 52 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 31 | 55 | 90 |
| 2 | 17:03 | 0 | 1 | Buf | Deslauriers from Girgensons | ES | 18 | 20 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 38 | 3 | 17 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 44 |
| 2 | 15:07 | 0 | 1 | Buf | Gionta from Foligno | ES | 8 | 16 | 31 | 32 | 51 | 54 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 82 |
| 2 | 10:40 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Grabner from Rielly | ES | 29 | 31 | 38 | 40 | 43 | 44 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 31 |
| 2 | 05:25 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Nylander wide from Parenteau | PP | 15 | 16 | 18 | 31 | 39 | 51 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 31 | |
| 2 | 05:14 | 0 | 1 | Tor | Parenteau from Gardiner | PP | 15 | 16 | 18 | 31 | 39 | 51 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 31 | |
| 2 | 05:05 | 0 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Nylander from Parenteau | ES | 15 | 16 | 18 | 31 | 39 | 51 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 31 | 55 |
| 2 | 02:59 | 1 | 1 | Tor | Rielly wide from Smith | ES | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 44 | 52 | 3 | 9 | 25 | 26 | 31 | 90 |
| 3 | 17:48 | 1 | 1 | Buf | Colaiacavo from Larsson | ES | 8 | 18 | 26 | 31 | 38 | 51 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 82 |
| 3 | 16:09 | 1 | 1 | Buf | C O'Reilly from R O'Rielly | SH | 26 | 31 | 40 | 44 | 52 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 55 | 90 | |
| 3 | 16:08 | 1 | 1 | Buf | Girgensons from rebound | SH | 26 | 31 | 40 | 44 | 52 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 55 | 90 | |
| 3 | 16:07 | 1 | 1 | Buf | Girgensons from rebound | SH | 26 | 31 | 40 | 44 | 52 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 55 | 90 | |
| 3 | 15:31 | 1 | 1 | Buf | C O'Reilly deflects Ristolainen shot wide | SH | 11 | 31 | 44 | 52 | 54 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 31 | 55 | 90 | |
| 3 | 13:06 | 1 | 1 | Tor | Gardiner drives | ES | 8 | 15 | 31 | 39 | 51 | 12 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 47 | ||
| 3 | 13:04 | 1 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Carrick from rebound | ES | 8 | 15 | 31 | 39 | 51 | 12 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 47 | ||
| 3 | 08:41 | 2 | 1 | Tor | Soshnikov from loose puck | ES | 31 | 40 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 52 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 25 | 31 | 90 |
| 3 | 04:28 | 2 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Marincin from Parenteau | ES | 15 | 31 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 52 | 9 | 23 | 29 | 31 | 47 | 90 |
| 3 | 03:14 | 3 | 1 | Tor | GOAL! Michalek drives | ES | 18 | 26 | 29 | 31 | 38 | 44 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 31 | 47 | 82 |
| 3 | 02:56 | 4 | 1 | Buf | Reinhart wide from faceoff | ES | 31 | 40 | 41 | 43 | 44 | 52 | 9 | 23 | 29 | 31 | 47 | 90 |
Leafs Player Data
| Player | ESChF | ESChA | ESCh% | ESTOI | ZS% | NZ% | ConEnt | OppConEnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parenteau | 5 | 1 | 83.3% | 13:12 | 37.5% | 55.0% | 40.9% | 27.8% |
| Kadri | 5 | 1 | 83.3% | 16:49 | 57.1% | 45.8% | 63.6% | 19.2% |
| Nylander | 4 | 1 | 80.0% | 14:16 | 37.5% | 50.0% | 36.4% | 27.3% |
| Grabner | 4 | 1 | 80.0% | 13:21 | 50.0% | 48.6% | 70.6% | 16.7% |
| Soshnikov | 4 | 1 | 80.0% | 15:23 | 66.7% | 50.0% | 72.7% | 22.7% |
| Michalek | 7 | 2 | 77.8% | 13:16 | 25.0% | 43.9% | 38.9% | 21.7% |
| Greening | 7 | 2 | 77.8% | 13:40 | 16.7% | 47.6% | 40.0% | 13.6% |
| Smith | 6 | 2 | 75.0% | 14:10 | 16.7% | 48.9% | 45.5% | 21.7% |
| Hyman | 1 | 1 | 50.0% | 14:07 | 37.5% | 46.7% | 33.3% | 25.0% |
| Brown | 1 | 2 | 33.3% | 10:17 | 55.6% | 42.3% | 45.5% | 6.7% |
| Gauthier | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 09:33 | 62.5% | 48.0% | 41.7% | 7.7% |
| Leivo | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 11:45 | 62.5% | 51.5% | 35.3% | 12.5% |
| Rielly | 7 | 2 | 77.8% | 22:11 | 50.0% | 50.0% | 57.1% | 17.1% |
| Gardiner | 7 | 2 | 77.8% | 22:32 | 55.6% | 52.5% | 45.2% | 21.4% |
| Carrick | 6 | 2 | 75.0% | 17:49 | 57.1% | 56.0% | 42.9% | 18.2% |
| Marincin | 5 | 2 | 71.4% | 19:08 | 66.7% | 44.3% | 59.3% | 17.6% |
| Valiev | 3 | 2 | 60.0% | 14:48 | 28.6% | 46.5% | 40.0% | 26.1% |
| Corrado | 1 | 2 | 33.3% | 11:43 | 22.2% | 41.2% | 28.6% | 20.0% |
It was strong night for three of the Leafs‘ lines, with the most chances coming from the third unit of Milan Michalek with Ben Smith and Colin Greening. They went mostly against Gionta’s line, and were extremely effective.
Nazem Kadri and William Nylander’s lines also produced solid offense, and clearly out-chanced their opponents. Kadri matched up well against Evander Kane, and that line had a spectacular controlled entries number. Frederik Gauthier, making his NHL debut, had a quiet night in terms of chances, although his fourth line was stingy at preventing controlled entries.
Morgan Rielly and Martin Marincin joined the Kadri line in putting up good numbers against the Kane line, as did Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick, who avoided that matchup but finished with similar chance numbers. Rinat Valiev and Frank Corrado were the bottom pairing, receiving a lot of defensive zone starts, but they weren’t overly protected in terms of matchups, and Corrado finished as the only defenseman under even in chances.
