Sabres show quiet confidence in win against Maple Leafs

TORONTO --The Buffalo Sabres bench was devoid of enthusiasm, as if their Stanley Cup Playoff aspirations were fading into the night.

Except they weren't.
There they were, trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs by two goals and being outshot 15-4 just 24:13 into the game at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. With Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok having just scored their second goal, Sabres coach Don Granato monitored his players for any sign of panic, especially after entering on a four-game skid (0-3-1).
There was none of that.
"The chatter on the bench, you hear it," Granato said. "There was no emotion. No wasted extra energy anywhere."
Only quiet confidence.
"They were dialed in," Granato said. "This group knows they can score. We're trying to sell that other side (defensive) to them and believe in that confidence. Obviously, it came through tonight."
Did it ever.
Instead of being down and out, Buffalo responded with four consecutive goals and
rallied for a 4-3 victory
. In a game that could have dampened their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes, the turnaround could be a defining moment should the Sabres rebound to reach the postseason for the first time since 2011.

With his team attempting to end that long drought, Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams opted not to bring in veteran rental players prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. The organization's reasoning: qualify for the playoffs or not, the young core has to endure the ups and downs of pursuing a spot. Whatever adversity the players go through, it will be a learning experience. In the big picture, that type of thinking will be far more beneficial long term than trading for older players on expiring contracts who won't be around next season.
They were faced with such adversity after Jarnkrok's goal. They responded by fighting back.
"I don't think anything needed to be said at that time," Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. "I think everyone knew. I don't think there were any words spoken. Maybe a couple of 'come ons' and 'stay with its,' because I didn't think we were playing that bad."
Maybe. But they played much better from that point on.
Consider this: After Jarnkrok's goal, Buffalo had the game's next 16 shots and held Toronto without one for 17:09.
Indeed, the Sabres controlled the final half of the game and built up a 4-2 lead with two scores by Tuch, along with goals by Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens. William Nylander brought the Maple Leafs within 4-3 with 1:02 left, but the Sabres hung on.
"We just stayed with it," said Tuch, who had missed the previous eight games with a lower body injury. "I didn't think we were playing that bad. We just had a couple of unlucky breaks and a couple of bad breakdowns.
"But we stayed with it. We kept pushing and things ended up going our way tonight."
Make no mistake, there still is plenty of work for the Sabres to do. Buffalo (33-28-5) trails the New York Islanders by five points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference but has two games in hand.
All the while, that quiet confidence remains.
"We've been struggling a bit the past few games," defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. "But it's so good that our team mentality is coming back.
"We know we can beat all the best teams in the League. We've just got to continue to build. All the guys are healthy, so it's a lot of fun."
About 30 minutes after the victory, Sabres defenseman Owen Power, who grew up in nearby Mississauga, Ontario, went into the stands to see family and friends before the bus left for the two-hour drive back to Buffalo. The highlight for the Sabres rookie, who had two assists in the game:
an embrace with his 93-year-old grandmother
, Yvonne.
"Great game," she said.
In the end, that was true of all the Sabres, given what they'd come back from on this night.