Maple Leafs tilt ice in comeback win over Sabres

TORONTO – A flurry of second-period goals erased the Sabres’ two-goal lead Sunday at Scotiabank Arena as Buffalo lost 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Several encouraging developments, including Jack Quinn finding his scoring touch with two goals and Devon Levi making key saves, helped Buffalo build 2-0 and 3-1 leads. But the Sabres couldn’t survive Toronto’s surge – which included a John Tavares hat trick – or prevent their winless streak from extending to 10 games (0-7-3).

“Effort wasn’t good enough, our details weren’t good enough,” said Sabres alternate captain Alex Tuch, who scored 2:46 into the game to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead.

“We were getting pucks on the net. We were hard on their defense, all five guys were pressuring and forcing turnovers, and we were moving the puck up quick. Forwards were getting open for D and D were moving it up for the forwards.”

The Sabres’ first goal came a minute into the game, courtesy of Quinn on the power play – it was ultimately the only opportunity for Buffalo’s man advantage, which entered Sunday 1-for-28 over the last 11 games.

“I thought we were quick early,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought we made a couple good plays, a couple really high-end plays that got us going. I thought our power play looked good, got us a goal. So, we were clicking on almost everything until they got the first goal and it just seemed like it turned.”

A 2-1 lead entering the second period became 3-1 when Quinn jumped into the rush, received a JJ Peterka pass in the high slot and beat Toronto goaltender Dennis Hildeby for the second time.

But the Maple Leafs proceeded to take over. In the span of 2:31, one goal by Nick Robertson and two by John Tavares, the first coming on the power play, gave Toronto a 4-3 lead.

With the game getting away from the Sabres in a hurry, Ruff used his timeout.

“Just to try to settle them down,” Ruff said. “I said, ‘Listen, we can do this. This is hard right now. We’ve got to do it together, but we’ve got to believe in how we need to play to get the job done.’”

That timeout may have helped to halt Toronto’s scoring, but Buffalo did not reignite its active offense seen in the first period.

“We’ve got to be better defensively when they’re feeling good and rolling around in the O-zone and got those three goals,” Quinn said. “And got to find a way to get some more offense there.”

The Maple Leafs outshot the Sabres 14-9 in the second period, 19-7 in the third and 41-27 in the game overall. Buffalo didn’t record a third-period shot until midway through the frame, nor did it generate a high-danger scoring chance after the first period, per Natural Stat Trick; Toronto held a 22-4 advantage in that category over 60 minutes.

“They really came hard after us and we couldn’t win enough battles,” Ruff said. “I thought that some of our puck decisions got us in trouble.”

Tavares iced the game with an empty-net goal at 17:48 in the third.

“Losing 10 in a row, there’s no good feelings,” Tuch said. “You’ve just got to work.”

“It’s on me to solve this,” Ruff added. “This is the toughest solve I’ve been around, but it’s on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game.”

Here’s more from Sunday’s loss.

1. Quinn tallied a team-leading four shots on net and tripled his season goal total, having entered with just an empty-netter scored Oct. 26. At even strength, he skated primarily with Dylan Cozens and Peterka, the latter of whom tallied primary assists on both goals.

“I felt good,” Quinn said. “Lot of confidence after that first one went in. Feel like my game is on another level when I see one go in.”

A healthy scratch for five-straight games before Sunday, Quinn had the opportunity to not only re-enter the lineup, but also see first-unit power-play time.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “It sucks not playing, but just used it as a chance to kind of find my legs and get a little pop coming back. … You see the confidence that they have in me, so just want to go out there and perform.”

Quinn continued to create shooting lanes and attack the net even in the third period, when scoring opportunities were few and far between for Buffalo.

“That was really good to see,” Ruff said of the forward’s return to the lineup. “He’s worked extremely hard. We wanted him to work on some things. I think he’s really worked on them and I think it paid off.”

2. Another lineup addition came in the form of Levi, who was recalled from AHL Rochester prior to Sunday’s game.

Levi, riding a six-game winning streak with the Amerks, stopped 36 of 40 shots in his first NHL action since Nov. 16.

“I felt good,” he said. “I think just being able to play a lot in Rochester helped me jump back into this game and feel like myself.”

After Toronto took a 4-3 lead, the Buffalo netminder made several key saves to keep the game within reach – on an odd-man rush in the final moments of the second period, an Auston Matthews power-play one-timer and an alone-in-front chance for Tavares, to name a few.

“I'm just trying to give my team a chance at that point,” Levi said. “It’s a one-goal game. I’ve got to make sure I'm sharp, try to keep the momentum on our side, so that's kind of the mentality there.”

“He played a heck of a game for us,” Ruff said. “[Made] a couple saves that really allowed us to try to win the hockey game.”

After witnessing the first nine contests of Buffalo’s 10-game winless streak from afar, Levi offered his thoughts on the team’s recent skid.

“It’s a situation that you’ve got to embrace – come in and try to do the best you can just to change something,” the 22-year-old said. “I think the guys are ready for a win.”

“Looking back, it's tough because you feel like if you save maybe one more then the game's a little bit different, different outcome. But it's tough. It's just the reality of hockey.”

Before the game, Ruff didn’t say if Levi would remain on the NHL roster beyond Sunday or be loaned back to Rochester.

Up next

The Sabres conclude their three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.