Before puck drop, Chris Cuthbert noted that this is the first meeting between Toronto and Buffalo in over three years where the Leafs are looking up at the Sabres in the standings. And the Leafs came out with an urgency to match the occasion: They outshot Buffalo 11-5 in the first period and their 1-0 lead after the period was extremely generous to Buffalo. It easily could have been a three- or four-goal lead.
It was also important that the win came in regulation – they had yet to do that to Buffalo, and in general, they have struggled against teams in their division this season (although I think some of the struggles vs.