Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 1
TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs, which have the worst record this year in the National Hockey League, defeated the Buffalo Sabres, which had the worst record in the NHL last year, 4-1 Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre.
Defenseman Connor Carrick, acquired by the Leafs in the trade that sent forward Daniel Winnik to Washington, scored the game winner at 6:56 of the third period. Leafs rookie center William Nylander, defensemen Martin Marincin and Connor Carrick and left winger Milan Michalek had the other Leafs' goals.
Nylander had two points in the game.
Sabres' captain Brian Gionta scored Buffalo's lone marker.
The Leafs improved their record to 25-35-11 and still have the fewest points in the league. However, they have shown improvement by winning three of their last four. Their victory over the Sabres was the first in their three games against Buffalo this season.
The Sabres dropped to 29-34-10.
The game lacked any pace and turned into a chippy affair in the third period, in which the Leafs had more momentum than Buffalo, which had played the night before in a 3-1 win at home against Ottawa.
Gionta opened the scoring with his 10th of the season at 4:31 of the first period, firing a wrist shot that eluded Leaf goalie Garret Sparks. The Sabres had only three shots on goal compared to Toronto firing 11 at Sabres' goalie Chad Johnson.
The Maple Leafs tied the game at 14:55 of the second period on a wrist shot by Nylander from just inside the blue line that beat Johnson on the high side. The floodgates opened in the third on consecutive Toronto goals by Carrick, Marincin and Michalek. Nylander had two points in the game.
Sparks raised his record to 5-4-1 on the season.
The Maple Leafs outshot the Sabres 31-21.
The Sabres' lineup has a sprinkling of young talent as part of their rebuilding process. The Leafs are in the process of their own rebuild.
Last year, the Sabres had the second pick overall and selected Jack Eichel after the Edmonton Oilers had luck go their way when the ping-pong balls bounced their way in the lottery that determined the first pick overall. Fans of the Maple Leafs are hoping the balls will bounce in Toronto's favor in this year's lottery.
Leafs coach Mike Babcock had stated publicly that his team needed to "shoot the pill" more to have a better chance of winning game. Not only do the Leafs statistically have the least amount of points in the NHL, they also have the fewest goals. The four goals represented an outburst for Toronto.
NOTES: The Maple Leafs recalled C Frederik Gauthier and LW Josh Leivo from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. Gauthier was selected 21st overall by the Leafs in the 2013 National Hockey League Draft. Gauthier became the 11th player to make his NHL debut with the Leafs this season. ... Leafs C Peter Holland (upper body) and LW Leo Komarov (lower body) were scratched from the lineup. C Brooks Laich missed the game due to personal reasons. ... Leafs C Tyler Bozak, who has missed 17 games with a concussion, is nearing a return to the lineup. ... Sabres' flashy rookie C Jack Eichel missed the game because of to the flu. Eichel leads the Sabres with 22 goals and is second in total points with 49. He had played in all 72 Sabres game this season. The Sabers recalled C Dan Catenacci from Rochester of the AHL. ... Sabres G Robin Lehner missed his second consecutive game because of a recurring high ankle sprain.