The Toronto Maple Leafs have made themselves at home on the road this season, collecting at least a point in 11 of 13 games (7-2-4).
The Maple Leafs will look to continue their good fortune on the road and avenge an early-season loss to the Sabres when the teams reconvene on Thursday night in Buffalo, N.Y.
Toronto finished a three-game homestand with a 1-1-1 mark following a 5-2 setback against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
Auston Matthews continued his torrid stretch in the loss, responding to sitting out on Saturday due to an illness by recording his third straight two-goal performance and fifth in seven games in which he has played.
“Didn’t miss a beat,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said of Matthews, who leads the NHL with 25 goals heading into play on Wednesday. “When he’s getting the puck around the slot, he’s got lots of confidence and he’s finding holes.”
Matthews found some holes in his last meeting with Buffalo. The former Hart Trophy recipient registered his third hat trick of the season and 10th of his career in the Maple Leafs’ 6-4 setback to the Sabres on Nov. 4.
William Nylander notched an assist on Matthews’ second goal on Tuesday to extend his point streak to nine games (three goals, 11 assists). Nylander also set up Matthews with an assist in last month’s contest against the Sabres.
Buffalo’s Tage Thompson scored in that encounter vs. Toronto and also tallied on Tuesday in a 9-4 drubbing by the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres yielded seven straight goals at one point en route to losing for the eighth time in their past 11 games (3-7-1).
“It’s actions,” Thompson said of how the team needs to respond. “We can say all the things we want to say in the locker room, we’ve got to go out and do it. It’s as simple as that.”
A sizable portion of those in attendance at KeyBank Center voiced their displeasure by booing the team off the ice at the conclusion of the game. Audible chants of “Fire Donnie” were directed toward Buffalo coach Don Granato, who became the interim head coach during the 2020-21 season before having the interim tag removed on June 29, 2021.
“It wasn’t good enough. We know that,” Granato said of his team’s performance. “I’ve stood here before in situations like this and told you I have conviction and confidence that we’ll resolve it. And we will.”
After the game, Thompson pushed back when asked if the Sabres have quit on their coach.
“He can only do so much,” Thompson said of Granato, per the Buffalo News. “He can draw the system on the boards and if he sends guys over the boards and they don’t do their jobs, then it’s not on him. It’s on us. Everyone in this room knows that and we have to take accountability for that.”
Captain Kyle Okposo scored to snap the Blue Jackets’ run of unanswered goals on Tuesday.