The Toronto Maple Leafs will aim to extend their winning streak to three games when they visit the free-falling Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
The Maple Leafs defeated the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Wednesday to open a brief two-game road trip and have now won four of their last five games (4-1-0).
William Nylander scored twice, Nicholas Robertson tallied a goal and an assist and Bobby McMann and Max Domi also scored for Toronto, which improved to 15-0-1 this season when McMann scores.
Joseph Woll made 36 saves to improve to 9-4-0 in 13 games this season. Woll’s performance came a day after the Maple Leafs announced that goaltender Anthony Stolarz will miss four to six weeks following knee surgery.
“(Woll) was standing on his head. He made a couple of huge saves there at the end,” said Nylander, who has three goals and two assists during his current four-game point streak. “Just put the team on his back in these situations.”
Woll, who has a 2.30 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage this season, is 1-1-0 with an .866 save percentage and a 4.52 GAA in two career games against the Sabres.
Nylander has a team-leading 20 goals in 32 games this season. The Toronto forward has reached the 20-goal plateau for the fourth consecutive season and the seventh time in his career.
Mitch Marner leads the Maple Leafs with 32 assists and 42 points in 32 games this season.
Nylander had an assist in Toronto’s 5-3 home win over Buffalo last Sunday, while Robertson and Domi each scored once in the victory. John Tavares powered Toronto with his 14th career hat trick.
The Sabres followed that loss with their 11th straight defeat, a 6-1 drubbing at Montreal on Tuesday. Buffalo is 0-8-3 since a 4-2 win at San Jose on Nov. 23.
“I think, as a man, we’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and regroup,” Sabres forward Ryan McLeod said after Tuesday’s game. “I think there’s lots of season left, and we’re still not that far out of it. We’ve just got to find a way to get a win next game.”
Dylan Cozens scored Buffalo’s lone goal against the Canadiens. The blowout came a day after team owner Terry Pegula flew to Montreal to address the team.
“I don’t know, really, just no legs, no jump, no energy,” defenseman Connor Clifton said. “Yeah, you think obviously with the meeting yesterday, the 10-game losing streak, at least we’d have the legs and energy.”
Tage Thompson paces the Sabres with 16 goals and shares the team lead in points (25) with Alex Tuch.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 8-10-3 with an .896 save percentage and a 3.00 GAA in 22 starts this season. In four career appearances against the Maple Leafs, Luukkonen is 0-3-1 with an .829 save percentage and a 4.36 GAA.
Friday is the second of three meetings between Buffalo and Toronto. The Atlantic Division rivals conclude the season series on April 15 in Buffalo.
–Field Level Media