What we saw from Maple Leafs’ loss to Sabres: Potential William Nylander injury looms – The Athletic
Two games after being called out by their goaltender in a pointed, meaningful way, the Toronto Maple Leafs have now responded with two losses.
Their latest, a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, showed signs of life within a Leafs team that needs just that. But allowing a concerning short-handed goal against to seal the loss and questionable defensive play mean the Leafs are now a sub-.500 team, falling to 3-4-1 on the season. There’s another Leafs game coming in less than 24 hours, so it’s not yet time to break out the Concern-O-Metre. But we’ve asked around and now know where it’s sitting in the attic, should we need to use it soon enough.
For now, here’s what we saw from the Leafs’ loss to the Sabres on Friday:
Nylander leaves the game
William Nylander played just six shifts for the Leafs in the third period before leaving the Leafs’ bench. His second-to-last shift was just seven seconds. Nylander took a cross-check to his midsection from Sabres forward Jason Zucker.
This came after Nylander added a goal for his 14th point in just eight games to put him second in the NHL.
Leafs coach Craig Berube did not provide a detailed update on Nylander’s possible injury. Berube did not rule Nylander out for Saturday’s game, either.
Leafs’ goaltending appears to be regressing
Anthony Stolarz has now allowed four goals against in three games in a row. That kind of streak did not happen to the Leafs’ goalie last season.
Remember the Leafs’ goaltending of 2024-25? Remember when Stolarz posted a league-best .926 save percentage last season? That version of Stolarz was not the one who took the ice against the Sabres. He allowed five goals on 30 shots.
Yes, Friday’s wide-open contest felt more like a game of pond hockey than an NHL game. Stolarz shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for allowing four goals through two periods. The dagger of a late third-period goal came directly in front of him. Lacklustre and unstructured defensive efforts in front of him are part of the story here, too. As has been the case throughout the season, the Leafs allowed the opposition too much time with the puck in the neutral zone and in their own zone.
Stolarz still didn’t look as quick with his glove or his lateral movement. The shots that beat him, including Mattias Samuelsson’s second-period goal, just the ninth of his six seasons in the NHL, were the kind he stopped last season.
SAMMY SZN pic.twitter.com/qcIe9EORO0
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 25, 2025
And so one of the concerns hanging over the Leafs to start this season is coming to life game by game. Despite a remarkable performance against the New York Rangers last week, Stolarz appears to be taking a step back early this season. It was Stolarz’s high-end puck-stopping ability (combined with Joseph Woll) last season that propelled the Leafs. This season, those kinds of elite, game-turning performances have been rare. He’s only really stood on his head and won the Leafs a game once.
There is plenty of time for Stolarz to turn things around. His size, tools and attitude suggest he could. And his improved, resilient play in the third period was a positive.
But if Stolarz continues to let in goals he should be stopping and provides somewhere near league-average goaltending, the byproduct seems obvious. The Leafs could be worse off, especially with Woll still — at the very least — a week away from returning to NHL action.
The Leafs are arguably the worst second-period team in the NHL. Allowing two goals on nine shots against a team outside of the playoff picture won’t help change that narrative.
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 25, 2025
Matthews shows signs that normal service is resuming
Quick release. Perfect accuracy. Serious power. That’s what you expect from an Auston Matthews shot. And that combination hasn’t been evident this year the way it has in seasons past.
Midway through the first period, Matthews ripped home a power-play goal. Sabres goalie Alex Lyon had about as much chance of stopping the shot as an extra-large pepperoni and bacon stood of surviving a Friday night in the Kloke household. It didn’t matter that the shot came with the man advantage, as Matthews had plenty of time to get his footing right. It mattered that Matthews looked healthy and possessed with his shot. So much of the success the Leafs will have this season — for better or worse — is dependent on that shot. Getting Matthews humming with confidence and getting that shot off is part of what the Leafs need right now.
Matthews ties the game with his fifth on the power play pic.twitter.com/QbhZ2ayTJy
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 24, 2025
In the aftermath of Matthews’ goal, he showed noticeably more pop and power in his stride, nearly burying a backhand. It was a reminder of how much momentum matters to Matthews right now. And it was a reminder of how much better the Leafs could end up looking if he builds on the momentum he earned against the Sabres.
Early in the second period, Matthews used his size to force a turnover down low and then force a few opportunities. And he did so with zing. The kind of zing that hasn’t been consistent in his game so far this season.
Matthews loves playing against the Sabres, scoring more against them than all but two other NHL teams. It was fitting he’d show signs of getting his groove back in Buffalo.
If — and it’s still an if — Matthews fully regains his form in 2025-26, this game against the Sabres feels like an origin-story moment. Matthews led all Leafs forwards with a massive 23:48 TOI and won 64.7 percent of his faceoffs.
Also, it certainly didn’t hurt that Matthews was playing his first game alongside Nylander this season. After Berube mixed and matched his forwards to spark his team, Nylander finally ended up on the top line. Just as Matthews’ goal against the Sabres wasn’t a surprise, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Nylander played full of juice as well. He was one of the Leafs’ best players. His play at both ends was as noticeable as it’s been all season.
Nylander opened the Leafs’ scoring on a breakaway in the first period. Minutes later, he earned another breakaway. That led to a penalty against the Sabres on a play they tried to slow Nylander down, though a penalty shot should have been awarded.
There was enough punch in the way the Leafs played when Matthews and Nylander were on the ice together that Berube will likely keep that line, including Bobby McMann, together if he can.
But just as evident? The Leafs didn’t have enough production from their second line when Matthews and Nylander were on the bench together. Even if Matthews and Nylander playing well together against the Sabres provided reason for optimism, it should also provide more urgency for Leafs GM Brad Treliving. His team needs forward help, pronto.
The good and bad in the Leafs’ depth
First, because I’m an optimist, let’s start with some solid depth performances: The Leafs’ third line of Dakota Joshua-Nicolas Roy-Easton Cowan played with the desired energy all evening. Joshua, who has struggled out of the gate as a Leaf, led the line with his best game this season. He scored his first goal for the Leafs and looked considerably elated afterward.
The three did their jobs, hounding the Sabres with persistent physicality all game. Cowan added his second NHL assist and should stay in the Leafs’ lineup. The new third line ended up dominating its minutes, owning 86 percent of the five-on-five expected goals while on the ice (per Natural Stat Trick). That 86 percent led all Leafs lines.
another strong shift from the third line
Joshua has his first, Cowan gets another assist, Roy has his 100th career apple pic.twitter.com/P7a7FUgdv7
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 25, 2025
Next, the not-so-good: Morgan Rielly missed Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Berube said before the game it’s “possible” Rielly plays Saturday against the Sabres, but he didn’t sound optimistic. And man, was Rielly (along with Chris Tanev) missed.
Two Leafs defencemen made their season debuts: Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis.
Myers struggled with the puck in his own zone, and a poor attempt at a zone exit from Max Domi eventually led to the Sabres’ first goal. Myers and Mermis were on the ice for both of the Sabres’ goals that came before the seven-minute mark of the first period. Myers was then caught flat-footed as Tage Thompson scored close to the Leafs’ goal.
Yes, the Sabres were able to zip passes through the Leafs way too easily. As decent as the Leafs looked offensively, they were not the picture of sturdiness defensively. Playing two depth defencemen will lead to that. If Rielly is going to stay out of the lineup, I wonder if the Leafs will consider other Marlies defence options.
Finally, Matias Maccelli will likely lose some sleep tonight over the two Grade A chances he couldn’t bury.
