Sabres-Maple Leafs: Buffalo Welcomes New Year with Win at Toronto

The Buffalo Sabres celebrated the New Year by turning over a new leaf and exhibiting an energy level which had been absent in their previous five games. In the process, they scored a convincing 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Most noticeable was the Sabres' forechecking. While the game was still in doubt in the first two periods, the Buffalo forwards kept consistent pressure on Toronto's defensemen, bodychecking, rotating their forwards, and even pinching with their own defensemen on occasion.

Even though the Sabres were dominating play, the score remained tied late in the first period. It looked as if all of Buffalo's strong effort could have been for naught when, after a Maple Leafs flurry of shots, the puck lay dangerously exposed in the crease, forcing Sabres center Derek Roy to use his hand to sweep the puck away, resulting in a penalty shot being called against Buffalo.

Toronto winger Niklas Hagman skated in on Sabres netminder Ryan Miller, but Miller foiled Hagman's attempt with a strong stick check. A little more than six minutes into the second period, Buffalo broke through with a Jason Pominville power-play goal.

Within the next five minutes, Roy knocked a rebound off a Thomas Vanek turnaround out of the air and into the net. Pominville scored again after walking in on Curtis Joseph from the corner (a goal the aging Joseph should have stopped), upping the Sabres' lead to 3-0.

There was a different feel to this game, with none of the familiar sense of dread that Buffalo might cough up yet another lead with an uninspired third period. But Miller continued his strong play, repeatedly challenging shooters from the top of the crease. The Sabres greatly reduced their giveaways and did a much better job of breaking out from their own end.

After Monday night's uninspired loss to the Capitals, Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff had questioned his team's effort, calling out Roy and center Jochen Hecht by name for their lackadaisical play. Ruff even went so far as to rearrange the long-standing arrangement of the players' stalls in the locker room just to shake things up and get out of the losing rut.

There has also been some talk of late that Ruff has lost this team, his long tenure behind the Sabres' bench resulting in players tuning him out. If tonight was any indication, things haven't reached that state yet.

The Maple Leafs aren't the Capitals, Penguins, or the Canadiens, but if the Sabres can play the way they did tonight, forechecking hard, minimizing turnovers, and getting good goaltending, they have a chance to make the playoffs.