TORONTO (AP) Auston Matthews kept his points streak going Steven Kampfer Jersey Womens , and William Nylander was the main reason why.The two each had two goals and an assist as the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night.Andreas Johnsson also scored as Maple Leafs extended a franchise record with their 48th win and matched the team mark for points (103) set in 2003-04.Matthews has five goals and 10 points during his seven-game streak to give him 60 points in 60 games. Meanwhile, Nylander is up to 59 points. They trail only Mitch Marner (69) in team scoring with two regular-season games remaining.”I feel like we’ve had (chemistry) since we started playing with each other last year and especially with (Zach) Hyman as well,” Matthews said. ”The more you play with somebody, obviously, you build more chemistry and get to know them and have a feel for where they’re going to be in certain areas. We definitely showed that tonight.Backup goalie Curtis McElhinney stopped 32 shots to help Toronto win for the 15th time in the last 17 at home while getting their 28th win at the Air Canada Centre.”Home’s been pretty good to us and we feel we have an advantage when we step into the arena here,” Matthews said.Sam Reinhart got his career-high 24th goal for the last-place Sabres, and Jason Pominville also scored. Chad Johnson finished with 31 saves.Buffalo came into the game following a 7-4 win Saturday at Nashville.”You think you’re heading in the right direction and then you take a step back,” Pominville said.Matthews broke a 1-1 tie on the power play at 5:01 of the second period as he scored top shelf on Johnson from just inside the faceoff circle.Nylander made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 7:39 after Matthews caught Buffalo on a bad line change and made a stretch pass ahead to the streaking Swede, who broke in alone to beat Johnson glove side.Nylander added his second of the period for a three-goal lead, going backand-to-forehand before snapping it under the bar for his 19th a little less than three minutes later.”I thought the first period was pretty good, then we tied it up with the power-play goal Laurent Brossoit Jersey Womens ,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. ”Then we didn’t manage the puck very well, get caught on a line change and game gets out of reach. (The Leafs) have a terrific rush game and can finish.”The Sabres pulled to 4-2 with their second power-play goal 2:56 into the third when Pominville put home a rebound for his 14th.Matthews made it 5-2 with his second power-play goal of the game, finishing off a Nylander pass for his 33rd goal and 60th point in 60 games.Johnsson opened the scoring at 5:44 of the first when he deflected a pass from Tomas Plekanec past Johnson.Buffalo had its opportunities to put a goal on the board before the period was through with Toronto defenseman Roman Polak taking back-to-back high sticking penalties – including a double minor – but the Sabres couldn’t get much going.Polak had 5:37 of ice time in the first, a secondary assist on Johnsson’s goal and six minutes in high-sticking penalties.The Sabres began the second period with more than three minutes remaining in Polak’s double minor and finally took advantage when Reinhart deflected Rasmus Ristolainen’s point shot past McElhinney to tie it at 2:27.NOTES: Toronto’s 103 points 14 years ago came before the NHL started using shootouts to decide games tied after overtime. The Maple Leafs have seven shootout wins this season. … McElhinney made rare back-to-back starts, with coach Mike Babcock choosing to give starter Frederik Andersen some extra rest. Andersen has faced the most shots of any goalie this season and is third in minutes played. … Toronto F Leo Komarov was out of the lineup for personal reasons. He was replaced by Matt Martin.UP NEXTSabres: Host Ottawa on Wednesday night in their final home game before finishing with two on the road.Maple Leafs: At New Jersey on Thursday night before returning home to close the regular season. SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Ask Florida forward Vincent Trocheck who the best three players in the NHL are right now, and the first two names he offers wouldn’t surprise anyone.The third might.Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby would almost certainly be on everybody’s list, so he was an easy pick by Trocheck. Same goes for Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, the NHL’s two-time reigning scoring champion and brightest young star. But that third name is of somebody that the casual hockey fan still might not know, and that’s something the Panthers are determined to change this season.Yes, Florida thinks Aleksander Barkov is elite. The Panthers’ hopes rest on being right.“He’s been that good Adidas Luke Schenn Jersey ,” Trocheck said. “It’s just a matter of people starting to realize it now.”Barkov led the Panthers with 78 points last season, three more than Trocheck. He went to the All-Star Game Star for the first time, led the league with five shorthanded goals, tied for fourth in the NHL with eight gamewinning goals. And he showed the Panthers enough growth that the team decided it was time to make the 23-year-old Finnish center their captain starting this season.It’s his team now, without question.“I tell you what, man, he’s probably the most complete player I’ve ever played with,” Florida goalie Roberto Luongo said. “Both ends of the rink, he’s so smart, so strong, always in great position. I’ve played with some great players Adidas Brian Gibbons Jersey , but the fact that he’s so good offensively and responsible defensively in his own zone, it’s hard to find guys like that.”Consider the magnitude of Luongo’s statement — “the most complete player” — for a second.Luongo has played with some serious greats: Pavel Bure, Joe Nieuwendyk, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Mats Sundin, Ryan Kesler and Jaromir Jagr among them in the NHL, say nothing of the absurdly loaded teams he’s been part of representing Canada at the Olympics.He insists it’s not just current-teammate favoritism. Barkov is that good, fueled in large part by the lessons he learned by playing with Jagr.“Jags was a big part of that,” Luongo said. “When Jags was here he kind of took him under his wing a little bit, with workouts Adidas Carter Rowney Jersey , coming to skate with him at night, all that kind of stuff. I think it plays a huge role in his taking the next step as far as dominating and being the player he is today.”So Barkov is Florida’s star.He’s not a reluctant star. He’s just reluctant to talk about being said star.Florida doesn’t get on national television often, has been to the playoffs only once in Barkov’s five seasons and hasn’t won a playoff series since he was 9 months old. That creates an ironic situation — the Panthers want more people to know who Barkov is, and Barkov wants minimal if any part of getting additional attention.“All I want to think about is going on the ice, help the team to win, score goals and play defense and not to get scored on,” said Barkov, who should contend for the Selke Trophy — presented to the NHL’s best defensive forward. “I don’t really want to think about where I stand in the Selke ratings or whatever. Of course, that would be nice to win that one day, but all I want is to make the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup.”When told about how effusive Luongo was in his praise, Barkov shrugged.“Lu can joke sometimes Adidas Jaycob Megna Jersey ,” Barkov said.It was then made clear to Barkov that Luongo was serious, as was Trocheck. Finally, almost grudgingly, Barkov accepted their sentiments.“I’m happy to hear that from them,” Barkov said. “All I want to do is help Lu and help Troch. I’m really happy to be with them on this team.”Florida missed the playoffs by a point last season, and a team that has touted itself as young and building knows it’s at the point where it’s time to take the next step.The Panthers are certain that Barkov can get them there.“Honestly, I think he has another level,” Luongo said. “It’s kind of scary to think about that.”
