At the Horn | Maple Leafs 3 - Sabres 0

The Buffalo Sabres generated a 34-22 edge in shots but were unable to put one behind goaltender Ilya Samsonov in a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

John Tavares, Nicholas Robertson, and Auston Matthews scored goals for Toronto. Samsonov posted his third shutout of the season.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves.

The Sabres went 0-for-6 on the power play. JJ Peterka had a game-high six shots and 12 shot attempts but had his four-game goal-scoring streak end.

The Sabres fell to seven points behind the Washington Capitals, who remained in possession of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with a shootout loss to Boston. The Sabres play the Capitals at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 4:58 – John Tavares from William Nylander and Conor Timmins (1-0, TOR)

Tavares received a pass from Nylander in the high slot with room to shoot and buried a wrister to open the scoring.

The Sabres finished the first period with a 10-8 edge in shots - not including a chance from Peterka that hit the post - and had consecutive power plays that were killed off by the Maple Leafs.

Period 2, 2:34 – Nicholas Robertson from Pontus Holmberg (2-0, TOR)

Robertson sped away from the defense on the rush and scored on a feed from Holmberg to double the Toronto lead early in the second period.

The Sabres once again finished the second with a small lead in shots (8-6) and had two more power plays but were unable to put one behind Samsonov.

Period 3, 14:23 – Auston Matthews from Conor Timmins (3-0, TOR)

Luukkonen made a sprawling pad save on an attempt from Matthews, but the Maple Leafs collected the rebound and worked the puck back to Timmins at the point. Matthews buried the rebound off of Timmins’ shot.

HIGHLIGHTS

PHOTO GALLERY

UP NEXT

The homestand continues Tuesday against Washington. The Sabres will hold a celebration honoring Jeff Skinner’s 1,000th NHL game. Find more information here.

Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.