Leafs rob themselves in Sabres match

They are the pesky Buffalo Sabres, and they showed exactly the type of team they are last night. Play as well as you like. Play ten times better than them. Then, go ahead… make a mistake. When you flub with the Sabres, it ends up in the back of your net. 

The first flub came with a little over 7 minutes left in a game where the Leafs were the better team. A missed assignment left Jochen Hecht standing unhindered in front of Gustavsson with the puck. Game tied.

The second flub came with less than a minute and a half left in overtime. Another missed assignment, and Jochen Hecht threaded a perfect pass to Derek Roy right in front of Gustavsson. Deke. Boom. The extra point goes down the drain.

Call it killer instinct, opportunism, whatever you like. it’s why Buffalo will challenge for the division and likely the conference this season and the Leafs won’t. Oh, we may squeak into the playoffs – though that seems unlikely. But its that kind of finish that puts teams over the edge. The Sabres have it. The Leafs… not so much.

That all said, Gustavsson is providing the Leafs with a chance to win. He looked great against the sputtering Bruins and looked good last night too. The outcome last night was through no fault of his, and we needn’y be so gloomy about the outcome either all things considered. We took 3 of a possible 4 points against the 2 best teams in the division and teams ahead of us in the conference, so every little bit helps.

The Leafs head to NY to face the Islanders tomorrow night before heading into the Christmas break.

GO LEAFS GO!!!