Toronto Maple Leafs wins 2-1 against Buffalo Sabres despite playing away
The first game of Wednesday was hosted by the Buffalo Sabres as they played the Toronto Maple Leafs at the HSBC Arena. The game was attended by a decent amount of people who came to witness the game as both these teams continued their battle to find a spot
in the play-offs.
Besides the first period, Maple Leafs were ahead of the Sabres in the terms of goal attempts and productivity scoring twice compared to the one goal scored by the Sabres. Maple Leafs were 2-1 winners in the end. Joffrey Lupul, winger of the Maple Leafs was
named the star of the game for his assist in the opening goal.
The home team made a decent start to the game firing a few shots on goal. They were evenly matched but the Maple Leafs in the early part of the period. However, the Sabres were cheered by the home crowd and Maple Leafs lost track of them. The Sabres were
very quick while passing and in an instance from their goal were on the opposing goal with the puck.
However, the shooting of both teams was disappointing early on. But the defence got better later and didn’t allow any players get past them. The period saw both teams making shots on goal every now and them as they period neared its end. Unfortunately no
goals were scored during the first period and Maple Leafs made five goal attempts while Sabres made nine.
The second period started off on a high for the Maple Leafs as they continued with the attacks from where they left off in the first period. There were strong shots made on goal early on and the attacks started to intensify. The period and the game saw its
first goal scored in the 5th minute in favour of the Maple Leafs that put the in the end.
The goal was scored by Phil Kessel from a decent flick shot. Sabres got better after a few minutes and fired shots on goal every now and then. Early on the shots weren’t even on target but they got with the passage of time. The Sabres were definitely stronger
of the two teams but the Maple Leafs got a little better and eventually dominated the period.
There were several shots on goal but no further goals were scored as the period ended with the Maple Leafs leading 1-0. During the course of the period Maple Leafs made 10 goal attempts while the Sabres made 8 goal attempts.
The final period of the game saw the Maple Leafs on top of their game. Their passing, shooting and play-making was all superb. This resulted in the away side scoring in the 9th minute to double their lead. The goal was scored by Joey Crabb from
a decent strike.
The Sabres managed to get a goal back and cut the lead to just a goal in the 11th minute. The goal was scored by Paul Gaustad from a powerful strike. Maple Leafs continued to attack but the Sabres couldn’t manage to match them on the offence.
The period and the game ended with the Maple Leafs winning 2-1. During the final 20 minutes of play Maple Leafs made 15 goal attempts while Sabres made 7 goal attempts.
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