The Leafs regulars faced off against a depleted Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at the ACC. On this night, it was a chance for Leaf coach Ron Wilson to get his players to play together and learn/execute the new systems for the new year.
This pre-season game was a chance for the power play to get much needed practise, and it was successful going 1-1 in only 45 seconds of PP time. That would be the first of two goals for Kessel on the night. Sadly, the Sabres PP was equal to the task going 2-4. Schenn was victimized for a penalty shot that Gustavsson was not able to stop the crafty Gerbe for his second goal of the night.
Game Summary: A sloppy defensive game for the Leafs that can be corrected over time. Offense, not easy to coach, was perfect on the power play. Chemistry on the 1st and 2nd lines are positive signs. Hanson brought another element to his game showing grit and determination that saw him pound the puck home from the slot with authority on the Leaf fourth goal midway in the third period.. Some of the goals against Gustavsson were soft and not customary for Jonas to give up. Jonas will need to take the positives from his game and work on the other elements that were lacking. To be fair, if not for the penalty shot and the poorly executed penalty kills as a result of sloppy defense, Buffalo only manged one even strength goal by Leopold in the second period.
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