After overcoming a nightmare start, the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied back for a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-tavares-hat-trick-helps-maple-leafs-overcome-3-goal-deficit-defeat-sabres">5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres</a> on Sunday.
John Tavares notched a hat-trick, Max Domi scored his first goal of the season, while Nick Robertson also got on the board in his return to the lineup after a four-game absence.
Jack Quinn scored twice for the Sabres, while Alex Tuch added a single.
Chris Tanev took an interference penalty 30 seconds into the contest and Quinn immediately capitalized for the Sabres on the ensuing power play. Tuch flew in off the rush and converted on a Zach Benson feed to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead, while Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby looked shaky during his third start of the season. Domi cut Buffalo&#8217;s lead to 2-1 at the first intermission and appeared to be immensely relieved after netting his first goal of the year.
Quinn scored midway through the second period, but it was all the offense the Sabres could muster and then the Maple Leafs erupted with three goals in two and a half minutes. Robertson worked well in conjunction with Domi and Bobby McMann — whose speed kept the Sabres off-balance throughout the game — and scored his third goal of the frame.
Tavares was Toronto&#8217;s best player all game long and was richly rewarded shortly thereafter. Sabres defenceman Henri Jokiharju couldn&#8217;t keep up with Toronto&#8217;s speed or physicality and received a hooking penalty on Matthew Knies. On the ensuing sequence, Auston Matthews drove a laser towards the net, Tavares tipped it home to tie the game up. 70 seconds later, Tavares skated into space and converted on an expert feed from Chris Tanev, giving the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead, forcing a stunned Sabres team to take a timeout.
&#8220;We had good intentions in the first period,&#8221; Berube said post-game. &#8220;We take a penalty, first shift, and we get behind. I thought after the first seven minutes we started to take over and I thought we really started to get going. Guys battled hard, all lines. I thought everybody was solid tonight.&#8221;
And while Buffalo tried to fight back into the contest, it ran out of gas, and Tavares notched his hat-trick on an empty net.
It&#8217;s also worth noting that Hildeby went for the goalie goal after Toronto led 5-3, but couldn&#8217;t pull off a daring attempt. Hildeby made 24 saves on 27 shots and improved to 2-1-0 on the year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
BUDS!!! <a href="https://t.co/MG1k9GdkiV">pic.twitter.com/MG1k9GdkiV</a>
&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1868465959243272408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Here are seven takeaways from the Maple Leafs&#8217; 5-3 victory over the Sabres: 
<ul>
<li>John Tavares was outstanding for the Maple Leafs and he continues to use his hockey intelligence and power game to great effect. Tavares expertly tipped home a rocket from Auston Matthews, then worked well in space to connect with Chris Tanev for his second goal of the second frame. He capped off an excellent performance with an empty-netter, but he did all the little things well, and he was unlucky that it wasn&#8217;t a five-goal game. Tavares almost put Bowen Byram on a poster, dangling around the young, talented Sabres&#8217; defenceman but couldn&#8217;t tuck it home — it would&#8217;ve stood as the Maple Leafs&#8217; best goal of the season if he had converted. He almost scored again at the end of the second period, getting a good low shot on net, which would&#8217;ve stood as one of the quickest natural hat tricks in recent memory. Tavares registered a game-high six shots, won 64 percent of his faceoffs, while Toronto outshot Buffalo 13-5 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 via <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&amp;game=20490">Natural Stat Trick</a>.</li>
<li>It was a tremendous performance from Tavares and he was central to Toronto&#8217;s best results: when paired with Max Pacioretty and Matthew Knies, Toronto outshot Buffalo 8-0, controlling nearly 96 percent of the expected goals, while using a combination of speed, size, goal-scoring and physicality that proved to be overpowering. It&#8217;s another unit Berube can draw from, as the season marches on and he has to optimize his playoff combinations. Berube raved about this line after the game: &#8220;I thought in my head if I could get Tavares with Knies and Pacioretty out there, at times, against the (Tage) Thompson line, it&#8217;s a big line, heavy line. That was my thought a little bit and not so much use (Auston) Matthews against them for the rest of the game.&#8221;</li>
<li>Max Domi scored his first goal of the year and appeared to be immensely relieved, but he took it in stride after the game, revealing that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/max-domi-on-scoring-his-1st-goal-of-the-season-it-doesnt-change-anything">it doesn&#8217;t change anything for him</a>. Domi appeared to be more relaxed after scoring and worked well as a playmaker, setting up Robertson&#8217;s goal that brought the Maple Leafs back into the contest. He forces his way around the net, made clever plays without turning the puck over and used his linemates to the best of his ability. It&#8217;s been a tough year for Domi and he&#8217;s certainly aware of it. This could be a galvanizing performance entering Wednesday and perhaps an inflection point for his season. Berube seemed to think so as well: &#8220;It feels good, trust me,&#8221; Berube said of Domi&#8217;s goal. &#8220;I mean, he&#8217;s not happy he hasn&#8217;t produced or scored. And we need him to,&#8221; Berube said. &#8220;But we need him to play that style of game that he played tonight. That&#8217;s the difference for me. Way more engaged.&#8221;</li>
<li>Nick Robertson also benefited from his new linemates and for large stretches of the game, this was Toronto&#8217;s second best line. It&#8217;s a unique combination of scoring, playmaking and elite speed and Robertson simplified his game after getting on the board. He drew a holding penalty in the first period on Buffalo&#8217;s Ryan McLeod, he kept pucks alive and pushed himself into high-danger areas, emerging with a 84 percent expected goals share at 5-on-5. Who cares about expected goals when you score actual goals? We get it, but Robertson&#8217;s all-around responsibility with the puck, keeping plays alive by staying strong on his feet and pushing himself into dangerous areas in the offensive third will go a long away in trying to retain his spot in the lineup.</li>
<li>Dennis Hildeby improved as the game went on. During the first period, it became clear that there&#8217;s a dramatic drop-off from the elite goaltending Toronto has received from Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll all season. Hildeby settled down and while Toronto controlled possession and shot attempts during the third period, the 23-year-old made an excellent save on Jiri Kulich in the third period and helped Toronto close out Buffalo in the final frame. It wasn&#8217;t a great all-around performance to be sure, but Toronto can start Hildeby against inferior opponents, or on the second night of back-to-backs, as was the case Sunday, and hope for the best as Stolarz works his way back from a lower-body injury.</li>
<li>Berube was in a great mood post-game, but the Maple Leafs will have some clear areas of focus before heading to Dallas. Prior to the game, both Berube and Jake McCabe emphasized the importance of an improved rush defence, while limiting the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-jake-mccabe-focused-on-preventing-sabres-chances-off-the-rush">Sabres&#8217; chances in transition</a>. McCabe&#8217;s defence partner, Chris Tanev, took an interference penalty on the first shift of the game, while Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn beat Hildeby in transition, as Toronto did little to suppress Buffalo&#8217;s speed through the neutral zone during the opening 30 minutes. In some senses, it was a tale of two games and Berube was pleased about the Leafs&#8217; improved showing during the third period, but it wouldn&#8217;t be surprising if improved transition defence is a major point of emphasis ahead of Wednesday&#8217;s game against the Dallas Stars.</li>
<li>The expectations for Auston Matthews are stratospheric, so when he&#8217;s not shooting the lights out, some analysts have a tendency to believe he&#8217;s not performing at his best. Matthews used his size and defensive positioning to great effect on Sunday — in one fell swoop, he picked off the much-larger Tage Thompson, and did an expert job of puck-shielding overall. In the third period, he was a constant menace, ringing a shot off the crossbar, and was robbed by Devon Levi on a forceful one-timer. He was dragged down by Henri Jokiharju on what would&#8217;ve been a tremendous finish to start the third frame, and he did all the small things well. Matthews finished the game with one assist in just under 21 minutes with a -1 rating. If you thought this was an underwhelming game from Matthews in any context, then you can only be appeased by unadulterated goal-scoring output. Matthews registered five shots, nine individual scoring chances, he drew a penalty and won 68 percent of his faceoffs (15-of-22) — the goal-scoring explosion is coming soon, but he&#8217;s doing everything else at the Auston Matthews Tier we&#8217;ve come to expect.</li>
</ul>

After overcoming a nightmare start, the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied back for a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-tavares-hat-trick-helps-maple-leafs-overcome-3-goal-deficit-defeat-sabres">5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres</a> on Sunday.

John Tavares notched a hat-trick, Max Domi scored his first goal of the season, while Nick Robertson also got on the board in his return to the lineup after a four-game absence.

Jack Quinn scored twice for the Sabres, while Alex Tuch added a single.

Chris Tanev took an interference penalty 30 seconds into the contest and Quinn immediately capitalized for the Sabres on the ensuing power play. Tuch flew in off the rush and converted on a Zach Benson feed to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead, while Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby looked shaky during his third start of the season. Domi cut Buffalo's lead to 2-1 at the first intermission and appeared to be immensely relieved after netting his first goal of the year.

Quinn scored midway through the second period, but it was all the offense the Sabres could muster and then the Maple Leafs erupted with three goals in two and a half minutes. Robertson worked well in conjunction with Domi and Bobby McMann — whose speed kept the Sabres off-balance throughout the game — and scored his third goal of the frame.

Tavares was Toronto's best player all game long and was richly rewarded shortly thereafter. Sabres defenceman Henri Jokiharju couldn't keep up with Toronto's speed or physicality and received a hooking penalty on Matthew Knies. On the ensuing sequence, Auston Matthews drove a laser towards the net, Tavares tipped it home to tie the game up. 70 seconds later, Tavares skated into space and converted on an expert feed from Chris Tanev, giving the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead, forcing a stunned Sabres team to take a timeout.

"We had good intentions in the first period," Berube said post-game. "We take a penalty, first shift, and we get behind. I thought after the first seven minutes we started to take over and I thought we really started to get going. Guys battled hard, all lines. I thought everybody was solid tonight."

And while Buffalo tried to fight back into the contest, it ran out of gas, and Tavares notched his hat-trick on an empty net.

It's also worth noting that Hildeby went for the goalie goal after Toronto led 5-3, but couldn't pull off a daring attempt. Hildeby made 24 saves on 27 shots and improved to 2-1-0 on the year.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1868465959243272408

Here are seven takeaways from the Maple Leafs' 5-3 victory over the Sabres: 
<ul>
 	<li>John Tavares was outstanding for the Maple Leafs and he continues to use his hockey intelligence and power game to great effect. Tavares expertly tipped home a rocket from Auston Matthews, then worked well in space to connect with Chris Tanev for his second goal of the second frame. He capped off an excellent performance with an empty-netter, but he did all the little things well, and he was unlucky that it wasn't a five-goal game. Tavares almost put Bowen Byram on a poster, dangling around the young, talented Sabres' defenceman but couldn't tuck it home — it would've stood as the Maple Leafs' best goal of the season if he had converted. He almost scored again at the end of the second period, getting a good low shot on net, which would've stood as one of the quickest natural hat tricks in recent memory. Tavares registered a game-high six shots, won 64 percent of his faceoffs, while Toronto outshot Buffalo 13-5 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 via <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&amp;game=20490">Natural Stat Trick</a>.</li>
 	<li>It was a tremendous performance from Tavares and he was central to Toronto's best results: when paired with Max Pacioretty and Matthew Knies, Toronto outshot Buffalo 8-0, controlling nearly 96 percent of the expected goals, while using a combination of speed, size, goal-scoring and physicality that proved to be overpowering. It's another unit Berube can draw from, as the season marches on and he has to optimize his playoff combinations. Berube raved about this line after the game: "I thought in my head if I could get Tavares with Knies and Pacioretty out there, at times, against the (Tage) Thompson line, it's a big line, heavy line. That was my thought a little bit and not so much use (Auston) Matthews against them for the rest of the game."</li>
 	<li>Max Domi scored his first goal of the year and appeared to be immensely relieved, but he took it in stride after the game, revealing that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/max-domi-on-scoring-his-1st-goal-of-the-season-it-doesnt-change-anything">it doesn't change anything for him</a>. Domi appeared to be more relaxed after scoring and worked well as a playmaker, setting up Robertson's goal that brought the Maple Leafs back into the contest. He forces his way around the net, made clever plays without turning the puck over and used his linemates to the best of his ability. It's been a tough year for Domi and he's certainly aware of it. This could be a galvanizing performance entering Wednesday and perhaps an inflection point for his season. Berube seemed to think so as well: "It feels good, trust me," Berube said of Domi's goal. "I mean, he's not happy he hasn't produced or scored. And we need him to," Berube said. "But we need him to play that style of game that he played tonight. That's the difference for me. Way more engaged."</li>
 	<li>Nick Robertson also benefited from his new linemates and for large stretches of the game, this was Toronto's second best line. It's a unique combination of scoring, playmaking and elite speed and Robertson simplified his game after getting on the board. He drew a holding penalty in the first period on Buffalo's Ryan McLeod, he kept pucks alive and pushed himself into high-danger areas, emerging with a 84 percent expected goals share at 5-on-5. Who cares about expected goals when you score actual goals? We get it, but Robertson's all-around responsibility with the puck, keeping plays alive by staying strong on his feet and pushing himself into dangerous areas in the offensive third will go a long away in trying to retain his spot in the lineup.</li>
 	<li>Dennis Hildeby improved as the game went on. During the first period, it became clear that there's a dramatic drop-off from the elite goaltending Toronto has received from Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll all season. Hildeby settled down and while Toronto controlled possession and shot attempts during the third period, the 23-year-old made an excellent save on Jiri Kulich in the third period and helped Toronto close out Buffalo in the final frame. It wasn't a great all-around performance to be sure, but Toronto can start Hildeby against inferior opponents, or on the second night of back-to-backs, as was the case Sunday, and hope for the best as Stolarz works his way back from a lower-body injury.</li>
 	<li>Berube was in a great mood post-game, but the Maple Leafs will have some clear areas of focus before heading to Dallas. Prior to the game, both Berube and Jake McCabe emphasized the importance of an improved rush defence, while limiting the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/craig-berube-jake-mccabe-focused-on-preventing-sabres-chances-off-the-rush">Sabres' chances in transition</a>. McCabe's defence partner, Chris Tanev, took an interference penalty on the first shift of the game, while Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn beat Hildeby in transition, as Toronto did little to suppress Buffalo's speed through the neutral zone during the opening 30 minutes. In some senses, it was a tale of two games and Berube was pleased about the Leafs' improved showing during the third period, but it wouldn't be surprising if improved transition defence is a major point of emphasis ahead of Wednesday's game against the Dallas Stars.</li>
 	<li>The expectations for Auston Matthews are stratospheric, so when he's not shooting the lights out, some analysts have a tendency to believe he's not performing at his best. Matthews used his size and defensive positioning to great effect on Sunday — in one fell swoop, he picked off the much-larger Tage Thompson, and did an expert job of puck-shielding overall. In the third period, he was a constant menace, ringing a shot off the crossbar, and was robbed by Devon Levi on a forceful one-timer. He was dragged down by Henri Jokiharju on what would've been a tremendous finish to start the third frame, and he did all the small things well. Matthews finished the game with one assist in just under 21 minutes with a -1 rating. If you thought this was an underwhelming game from Matthews in any context, then you can only be appeased by unadulterated goal-scoring output. Matthews registered five shots, nine individual scoring chances, he drew a penalty and won 68 percent of his faceoffs (15-of-22) — the goal-scoring explosion is coming soon, but he's doing everything else at the Auston Matthews Tier we've come to expect.</li>
</ul>

Leafs-Sabres takeaways: Tavares’ hat-trick drives offence, Robertson and Domi’s best games of the year

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