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Game 4 – Leafs vs. Sabres; Roster picture clearer after win over Buffalo

September 21, 2019, 2:53 PM ET [181 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Toronto Maple Leafs earned a 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena on Friday, as Kenny Agostino, Auston Matthews and Matt Read scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen and Michael Hutchinson combined for a 31-save shutout, but the win provided more evidence towards determining who will make up the club’s roster to begin the regular season in less than two weeks.

“(The players) will clear themselves out. After (Saturday), we are halfway through (the preseason) and we’ll have a better handle on (the roster). Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “The separation between our guys and the other guys grows every day and the players who are going to end up here are going to separate themselves.”

At forward, William Nylander led Toronto with six shots on goal and had a number of chances that were off target, but did make a nice pass to set up Matthews for his third goal in two games.

“The way (Willie) can skate and his edge work, he frees up a lot of space for himself.” Matthews said after the game. “He looked good tonight, and he was flying all over the ice, he’s just got to hit the net.”

Ilya Mikheyev made a positive impression, displaying some good speed and deft stickhandling on a two-on-one break with linemate Alex Kerfoot in the third period.



“(Mikheyev) is still trying to figure out the size of the rink.” Babcock said. “Each game he's played, wasn't quite as good in the first, but he's gotten better and better. He can really skate, he's very intelligent, heavy on the puck, he can shoot it, make plays.”

In the battle for a fourth line spot, Agostino made a strong case in the game, scoring a goal and playing on the Leafs makeshift top power play unit, while other candidates like Nick Shore and Tyler Gaudet did not make much of an impact.



Defensively, the star of the night was Rasmus Sandin, who assisted on Read’s third period goal and played over 20 minutes. The young Swede made good decisions all night and other than Buffalo’s Casey Mittelstadt flying by him for a scoring chance in the third, the 19-year-old was solid defensively.

“(Sandin) is like that every night. He’s just smart and simple, and knows how to play and just seems to be comfortable all the time.” Babcock said. “(Playing the left side or the right) doesn’t seem to make any difference to him.”



The Leafs travel down the QEW to take on the Sabres at Key Bank Center on Saturday. Toronto’s lineup will feature John Tavares, Mitch Marner, the defensive pairing of Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie, and the fourth line center battle between Jason Spezza and Frederik Gauthier.

Michal Neuvirth will get the start for Toronto, with Carter Hutton the expected starter for Buffalo.

News and Notes

Toronto reduced their roster by two on Saturday, demoting goalie Brandon Halverson (on a professional tryout) to the Toronto Marlies and placing Kasimir Kaskisuo on waivers. Kaskisuo had a 12-14-1 record and 3.07 GAA in 30 games for the Marlies last season, but was their go-to in goal during their deep run to the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final.

Cody Ceci and Michael Hutchinson did not practice at the Ford Performance Centre on Saturday. It was a maintenance day for Ceci, who played over 22 minutes on Friday and Hutchinson will back up Neuvirth in Buffalo.

In ex-Leafs news, former backup Garret Sparks was placed on waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights, who appear to be going with Malcolm Subban to back up starter Marc-Andre Fleury.

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