TORONTO — While all eyes in the city were directed a couple blocks west, trained on night two of a World Series battle that’s captured the hearts and minds of the Toronto faithful, the Maple Leafs waded through a messy back-to-back reunion of their own Saturday night, hoping to find some semblance of the magic their downtown neighbours have shown in spades of late.
The Maple Leafs looked far from a club ready to vie for a championship any time soon, falling short of delivering the type of inspired, threatening offensive sequences that defined the past half-decade of blue-and-white hockey. Still, with the pressure mounting and their backs against the wall, they went out under the Scotiabank Arena lights and gutted out an overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres, snapping a three-game slide and finding something to build off.
“A gritty win,” head coach Craig Berube said once the dust settled on the 4-3 extra-time victory, which came 24 hours after the Sabres beat Toronto 5-3 at the KeyBank Center. “The difference for me tonight is we were better defending the odd-man rushes. I think we gave up two in the first period, they capitalized on one of them. … It was a low-event game, but you play teams like that, you’ve got to make sure you’re not giving those freebies up. And we didn’t do that.
“I thought our guys played hard. I liked the jam they played with tonight — physical, a couple nice hits, just a little bit pissed off.”
It was John Tavares who turned another rollercoaster night into a trip back to the win column, finishing off a wild overtime sequence that saw a diving Oliver Ekman-Larsson break up a Sabres 2-on-1, Matthew Knies deliver an inch-perfect feed from deep in his own zone to find the streaking ex-captain, and Tavares walk in and snipe one past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
“He’s just deceptive,” said Maple Leafs netminder Cayden Primeau, who registered his second win in a Toronto uniform. “He’s been working on that shot quite a bit. I stayed out with him a couple days ago after practice and he was doing the same stuff. He’s just always working on his craft.”
The game-winner puts Tavares on the cusp of history. No. 91 is now sitting at 499 career tallies and his next one set will make him the 49th player to ever reach 500 NHL goals. For those who share a locker room with the former Hart Trophy nominee, his continued ability to make an impact at the game’s highest level is no surprise.
“He’s certainly made me a better pro, just being around him, watching how he goes through his process,” said fellow veteran Jake McCabe. “It’s impressive. I know we always talk about it, but you know, just Mr. Steady, every single year. And to have that in your room, as a leader, is super crucial for our team. We certainly don’t take it for granted. It’s not only 499 (goals), but one of four people to have 500 career points with two different teams. Pretty amazing company that he’s sharing there.
“So, well-deserved. And it’s all credit to him, because he works his ass off.”
Primeau’s seen that unyielding effort first-hand since joining the Maple Leafs earlier this month, the young netminder already awed by Tavares’s commitment to the game, even after 17 years in the big leagues.
“It’s crazy,” the goalie said with a chuckle Saturday. “When we’re on the road, he brings a big extra suitcase of things to make sure he’s doing the right things. When you see a guy like that, who’s achieved so much, it’s motivating.”
“You don’t really need to coach him. He’s so professional and dedicated,” added Berube. “He loves the Leafs. He loves the team. He just comes to work every night — he doesn’t ever take a night off, he doesn’t take a day off. He’s always just doing his thing, working, competitive out there.
“It’s great to be able to coach a guy like that.”
While Tavares allowed the Maple Leafs to finish the night on a high note, it was all din and dissonance until that final shot of the game.
It was the Sabres who drew first blood with Tage Thompson beating Primeau with a wicked wrister late in the first. Toronto responded five minutes later, getting a goal from Nick Robertson, who got a chance up on the top line alongside Auston Matthews with William Nylander sidelined — a lower-body injury forced the star winger to miss his first regular-season game since April 2022, though Berube said he hopes to see No. 88 back in the mix next game.
The clubs traded goals again in the second, before another tally from Thompson pulled Buffalo back into the lead early in the third period.
Staring down a fourth-straight loss, and back-to-back drubbings from the rival Sabres, Toronto clawed its way back when Dakota Joshua scored late in the third.
It’s the type of fight, the type of resilience, these Leafs have seemed to lack through the early going of the new campaign. And while it’s Tavares who earned the spotlight for his OT clincher, it’s fellow veteran McCabe who might’ve been the true catalyst for the much-needed win, the defender spurring his club on in the first period with a stiff open-ice check on Bowen Byram, a dominant tussle with Alex Tuch, and an assist on the late tying goal to boot.
“He brings a lot of emotion and physicality, no question. I mean, he’s got a great all-around game, whether it’s blocking shots, taking the body. You know, he just lays it all on the line,” Tavares said of the bruising blue-liner’s impact. “He’s a heart-and-soul type of player. He brought great emotion the last couple days.”
“I think it’s been a little lacking here the first little while,” said McCabe himself of that physical play. “I’m certainly guilty of it too through the first five, six games — I think at the beginning of the year sometimes you kind of dip your toe in the water rather than jumping full in.
“I made it a mission here the last couple nights to bring that side of my game out a little bit more, because I certainly play better and I know my teammates feed off it as well. Just tried to bring that emotion and energy and competitiveness.”
On the back of that standout performance from the two grizzled vets, the Maple Leafs now head towards a Tuesday-night bout against the struggling Calgary Flames with a win on the board, a little hope in the room, and some much-needed momentum.
“We just want to play solid team hockey,” Tavares said of what the night means, of how the team is looking forward from here. “We want, and we need, everyone to contribute in all areas of the game. You know, it didn’t go our way last night, and there’s still some things we clearly have to clean up even after tonight. But we felt some things were trending in a better direction after yesterday’s game. We just wanted to stay with it.
“It wasn’t pretty today by any means, but you’ve just got to grind it out and find a way. … Good signs for us, and obviously a much-needed two points.”