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Big Mac moves ahead in goalie battle, Plus/Minus; Leafs vs. Sabres

September 22, 2018, 1:43 PM ET [265 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The acquisition of John Tavares continues to excite Toronto Maple Leafs fans nearly three months after the Mississauga, ON native signed a seven-year, $77 Million contract, as the club’s new center scored a pair of goals in a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Tavares tallied in the first period after feeding Mitch Marner on a breakout and converting on Linus Ullmark’s rebound of a Timothy Liljegren shot and iced the game with an empty netter in the final minutes of regulation.

Ron Hainsey, Pierre Engvall and Chris Mueller also scored and Garret Sparks and Curtis McElhinney split duties for Toronto, who are a perfect 3-0 in the exhibition schedule and face the Sabres in the second of their home-and-home series at Key Bank Center on Saturday.




The lineup in Buffalo is close to what the Leafs suited up in Ottawa on Wednesday, as Auston Matthews centers Patrick Marleau and former Sabre Tyler Ennis. Newcomer Par Lindholm slots in between Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen, the Marlie combo of Carl Grundstrom, Adam Brooks and Jeremy Bracco and a unit of Trevor Moore, Adam Cracknell and Emerson Clark skated together this morning at Mastercard Centre in Etobicoke, ON according to reporter Paul Hendrick.

Jake Gardiner will see action for the first time in the preseason following the birth of his son Henry, as he was paired with Nikita Zaitsev. The other Leafs pairings are all in the running for bottom pairing and depth spots, as Calle Rosen plays with KHL import Igor Ozhiganov and Andreas Borgman partners with Justin Holl.

Frederik Andersen and Calvin Pickard are expected to split time for Toronto, while Carter Hutton will likely get the start for the Sabres.

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Plus / Minus for Game 3

Minus - Although there are five games and over a week to go before the final roster cutdown to 23 players, goalie Garret Sparks may look at his performance on Saturday as the reason he will not unseat Curtis McElhinney.

Sparks allowed three goals on 12 shots against Buffalo, including a juicy rebound that Andrew Oglevie converted 30 seconds into the game and a CJ Smith goal later in the first where he was down and at the Sabre forward’s mercy.


Plus - McElhinney was solid in relief of Sparks, keeping Buffalo off the scoreboard, who had 20 shots and three power plays in the second half of the game. Barring a significant drop off this week, I cannot see how the Leafs choose to keep Sparks as the backup over the 35-year-old veteran if the decision is purely on who is performing better.



2018 third rounder Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (with Leafs GM Kyle Dubas) signing his entry-level contract on Saturday.


Plus - The combo of Tavares and Marner have showed some killer chemistry in a very short time, registering five goals in two games. The Leafs center combined for a beautiful goal in the first period and were thwarted by Ullmark on a two-on-one break in the middle frame. The combo lost linemate Zach Hyman after the winger took a shot off the left skate and had chances with Josh Leivo stepping in, although after the game Babcock said Hyman’s injury was due to being cross-checked in the hip.


Minus - Ron Hainsey surprised many with his performance on the top pairing with Morgan Rielly early last season, but the veteran’s performance dropped off considerably with head coach Mike Babcock’s overuse as a 20+ minute blueliner and using him more than any NHL defenseman in short-handed situations.

The 37-year-old has not looked sharp in his two outings, which could be simply that he is conserving himself for a long and difficult season ahead, but it could be a concern if his struggles extend into the regular season.


Plus - The pairing of 2017 first rounder Timothy Liljegren and 2018 top pick Rasmus Sandin had another impressive performance on Friday. Liljegren had an assist on Tavares’ first goal and appeared more confident carrying the puck and getting involved offensively, while Sandin led the Leafs 4 hits on the evening and showed an ability to make quick decisions with the puck that impressed his head coach.

“(Sandin) is a good player. Guys that are smarter than everyone else look like they are fearless, because it is no big deal, it is just hockey for them.” Babcock said. “He knows how to play, he knows what to do, he doesn’t force things (and) plays simple.”


Minus - Martin Marincin…...need I say anything more. The lanky blueliner was chiefly responsible for Tage Thompson’s tying goal due to his turnover just inside the Sabres blueline. If it was possible to just play Marincin as a penalty killing specialist, he could be an effective role player, but as a regular defenseman he makes too many mistakes to ever be trusted with significant ice time.

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A trip down memory lane, five years ago tonight was the now infamous John Scott - Phil Kessel incident at Air Canada Centre in which David Clarkson jumped off the bench to defend his teammate and was suspended 10 games. Time flies…..



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