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It must be a different type of season for the Toronto Maple Leafs when they win twice in Buffalo, as a three-goal first period outburst provided all the offense they would need in a 4-2 victory over the Sabres at Key Bank Center on Monday.
The effort was the opposite of the Leafs performance in the Queen City 10 days ago, as Toronto capitalized on the Sabres sloppy defensive play early in the game and put Buffalo away with three goals from Leo Komarov, Auston Matthews and James van Riemsdyk within a span of 43 seconds.
Nazem Kadri added a power-play goal early in the third to insure victory for the Leafs, who are at 93 points and move ahead of Boston into second place in the Atlantic Division.
Ottawa lost 5-4 in a shootout to Detroit Red Wings and are tied with Boston at 92 points, while Tampa Bay has 88 points. The Sens and Wings play the second of home-and-home games in Ottawa and the Lightning and Bruins go head-to-head in Boston on Tuesday.
The Leafs face the Washington Capitals at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, and Babcock will go with backup Curtis McElhinney in the second of back-to-back games. The Capitals have a chance to lock up home ice advantage throughout the playoffs and will start Philipp Grubauer against Toronto and save Braden Holtby for the division rival New York Rangers on Wednesday.
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The news that the NHL would not be going to the Olympic games in Pyeongchang was widely greeted with criticism from the NHLPA, the International Olympic Committee and a number of players over the last 24 hours.
Capitals team captain Alex Ovechkin stated on Tuesday that he will go to South Korea to play for Russia regardless of what the NHL does, others believe the league is bluffing.
When asked for his thoughts, Babcock said he was disappointed with the decision, but he and his players are looking more at the task of clinching a post-season berth for the first time in four years.
Alex Ovechkin, summing up his thoughts on the Olympics: "Somebody going to tell me don’t go, I don’t care, I just go.…
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 4, 2017
“(The Olympics are) not really the focus right now, we (have) some of the most important games of the year coming up here this final stretch, so it’s not really in my mind.… Matthews said following the game.
Hockey Hall of Famer Vladislav Tretiak said that the KHL will use the announcement as a recruitment tool for Russian players who are NHL free agents so that they will be free to play in South Korea.
CSKA Moscow Team President Igor Yesmantovich indicated that he would attempt to woo Leafs defensemen Alexey Marchenko and Nikita Zaitsev, who are both restricted free agents at the end of this season.
TSN's Bob McKenzie and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported last week that the Leafs and Zaitsev were closing in on a seven-year contract extension, but the 25-year-old blueliner played internationally for Russia in the 2016 World Championships and World Cup of Hockey and would be free to return to the KHL if playing in the Olympics was important.
A move like this is not without precedent. Leo Komarov signed a one-year deal with the Leafs in 2012 after playing three seasons for Moscow Dynamo and returned to the KHL after the lockout shortened season, partly because he received a more lucrative offer from Dynamo, but also because at the time he signed, the NHL had not decided if they were going to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Zaitsev leaving is not likely since he enjoys playing in Toronto, it is always a possibility until the blueliner signs on the dotted line.
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