Five Takeaways - Leafs vs. Sabres - 03/26/18

1. Buds dominate first period, but opportunistic Sabres take lead into second. Aiming to extend their franchise-record home win streak to 14 games, the Leafs spent a majority of the first period Monday in Buffalo's zone and outshot the Sabres 14-7. However, it was the visitors who took the first lead at Air Canada Centre when centre Jack Eichel took advantage of a turnover in Toronto's end and deke'd the puck past Buds netminder Frederik Andersen at the 3:23 mark of the opening period.

The Leafs dominated in shot attempts (32-15) through the first 20 minutes of action, but Buffalo did a solid job of clogging up the middle of the ice in their zone, and the Sabres had a little bit of good fortune, as Toronto centre Auston Matthews clanged a shot off the post and a number of Buds players narrowly missed scoring their team's first goal. The Leafs entered the second frame without a goal - the first time that's happened in 10 games - but they were doing a lot of things right.

Video: BUF@TOR: Marner finds Kadri with crafty pass2. Sabres frustrate Leafs for most of middle frame, but Leafs get on scoreboard late as Kadri reaches 30-goal plateau. The Sabres continued to keep the Leafs off the scoresheet for most of the second frame and again outshot Buffalo to hold a 29-17 advantage in that department after 40 minutes of play. But Toronto continued to pressure the Sabres, and with less than three minutes left before the second intermission, winger Patrick Marleau began a robust forecheck behind Buffalo's net, pushing the puck over to winger Mitch Marner. Marner then made a sizzling, behind-the-back pass to centre Nazem Kadri directly in front of goalie Chad Johnson, and Kadri instantly knocked it into the net for his 30th goal of the season and a 1-1 tie game at the 17:31 mark.

Kadri's goal put him at the 30-goal plateau for the second consecutive season, and left him two goals shy of evening the career-best 32 he registered for Toronto last year. And Marner's assist - his team-leading 45th of the season - gave him at least one point in nine straight games. The Kadri-Marleau-Marner line has been terrific for the Buds in the second half of the year, and they continue to consistently present a threat to the opposition as the regular season nears an end.

3. Toronto picks up momentum after Kadri's goal, takes lead on Marleau's power play marker.Kadri's goal gave the Leafs confidence and momentum, and just five seconds after the game was tied, Buffalo gave Toronto their first man advantage of the evening. And the Buds made the most of it, taking their first lead of the game at the 18:42 mark when centre Auston Matthews made a slick pass to the side of Johnson's net, where Marleau was positioned perfectly to tap it in for his 24th goal of the season.

Marleau's two-point night was his second in six games, and gave the veteran 43 points in 76 games with Toronto this season. That's just three points behind the 46-point year Marleau had in San Jose in 2016-17, and the 38-year-old is showing no sign of slowing down in his 20th NHL campaign.
4. Buffalo evens score midway through third, regains lead on Eichel's second of the night.Buffalo's playoff chances this year evaporated weeks ago, but the Sabres still have a good deal of young talent seeking to play spoiler as the regular season finishes up. And Eichel - their best burgeoning youngster - showed his talents again in the third period as the visitors scored twice in a span of 1:40 to retake the lead.

The Sabres got the game-tying goal at 7:56 of the third, when blueliner Casey Nelson's shot from the point went through traffic and past a screened Andersen. Then, at 9:36, Eichel beat Andersen on his backhand for his 24th goal of the season and a 3-2 Buffalo lead. The Sabres may have lost four in a row heading into Monday's game, but all NHL teams are a prideful bunch, and Buffalo wasn't about to hand Toronto an easy victory.
5. Buds make late push, but can't pull even again and lose at home for first time since late January. The Leafs tried desperately to produce the game-tying goal in the final minutes, and Toronto head coach Mike Babcock pulled Andersen in favour of the extra attacker to maximize their scoring chances. However, Johnson made several big stops when he needed to - stopping 39 of 41 total Buds shots - and Buffalo pulled out the victory.

The defeat was the Leafs' first at home since a Jan. 22 loss to Colorado. Nevertheless, Toronto will quickly have another chance to get back in the win column when the Florida Panthers come to ACC Wednesday. The Panthers are chasing the New Jersey Devils for the final wild card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, so the Buds will need to be at their best if they hope to start a new home win streak.