NHL Update: Toronto Maple Leafs shut down Buffalo Sabres, 2-1
Joey Crabb scored a shorthanded that proved to be the game-winner, as Toronto Maple Leafs shut down Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, on Wednesday night.
Phil Kessel also lit the lamp for Toronto, which beat Buffalo for only the second time in its previous 15 meetings.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere started between the pipes and turned away nine shots he faced in the goalless first period. He got injured and was pulled after first period. James Reimer replaced him and stopped 14 shots in two periods for Toronto, which won for
the fourth time in its previous six contests overall.
Paul Gaustad provided the lone offense for Buffalo, which has dropped for just the second time in its previous six play-offs.
Ryan Miller surrendered two goals on 30 shots in the losing effort.
"Their energy was better than ours," said Sabres head Coach Lindy Ruff.
After a scoreless first stanza, Kessel got Toronto on the board for a 1-0 lead just 4 ½ minutes into the middle session. The goal came when Tomas Kaberle sent a nice pass in the slot to Kessel, who fired a shot through traffic past Miller.
Miller then stopped a charging Joffrey Lupul's shot early in the final frame, securing Sabres’ one-goal deficit.
Few minutes Later, with Maple Leafs on a two-man advantage, the puck flipped through Miller and was moving to the goal line when Buffalo forward Tim Connolly reached his stick back and preserved it against the net-minders’ skate.
"We did a good job on the 5-on-3. We put ourselves in a bad spot but we got through it," said Ruff. "We didn't generate enough. You gotta give them credit. They did a good job of stuffing us up."
Crabb put Maple Leafs ahead by 2-0 just 8 ½ minutes into the third period. With an outstanding solo attempt, he controlled the puck after a turnover near the right boards and carried it regardless of being sandwiched by Sabres’ Jordan Leopold and Thomas
Vanek. He then jammed the puck into the right side of the net as he crashed into Miller.
“I’ve been here for one game before this, and we talked about how we’ve struggled here,” Crabb said. “So it was a big goal that helped the team out in a place we haven’t had much success.”
Less than two minutes later, Gaustad drew Sabres within a goal to make it 2-1 game when he beat Reimer inside the left post, but Buffalo failed to tie the game.
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