A gritty win, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube called it.
The Leafs’ 4-3 overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres featured a couple of elements that had been missing during a three-game losing streak, which has been put to bed.
A leader made the difference. That would be John Tavares, who scored his 499th National Hockey League goal at 1:28 of the extra period.
And there was defenceman Jake McCabe, who not only punched out Alex Tuch in a short fight but continued to get back to the physical play on which he prides himself.
Our takeaways from the win at Scotiabank Arena, which evened the Leafs’ record at 4-4-1:
TAVARES STEPS UP
With Tavares on the cusp of becoming the 49th player in NHL history to score 500 goals in his career, much has been said about his character and professionalism in the past several days.
Berube offered another laurel on Saturday night, and it was the kind that doesn’t apply to many of Tavares’ NHL peers.
“You don’t really need to coach him,” Berube said. “He’s so professional and dedicated. He doesn’t ever take a night off, doesn’t take a day off. He’s always just doing his thing, working, highly competitive.”
The Leafs need their bold-faced players to start making more of an impact when it’s required. That’s captain Auston Matthews, who had an assist on Saturday, and William Nylander, who was a late scratch because of a lower-body injury. It was the first regular-season game that Nylander missed since April 2022, ending a 266-game run.
Nylander has been putting up the points, but neither he nor Matthews have played with much pop through nine games. Berube said he was hopeful that Nylander will be fine for the Leafs’ next game, on Tuesday at home against the Calgary Flames.
Tavares? Well, the 35-year-old guy not only still has it, he has 12 points in nine games and gave another example of his skill and savvy on the winner. Sent in alone by Matthew Knies, Tavares beat goalie Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen on the short side.
“His shot is deceptive, and he’s got a great release, and he’s been doing it for a while, and had success,” Leafs netminder Cayden Primeau said, “and so he knows what he’s doing.
“I stayed out with him a couple days ago after practice, and he was doing the same stuff. He’s always working on his craft.”
When Tavares scores his 500th goal, he will be just the second player to do so while playing for Toronto. How about Tuesday against the Flames? It would be fitting, considering that Mats Sundin, the only other player to hit the milestone in blue and white, did so against the Flames on Oct. 14, 2006, at what was then the Air Canada Centre.
The Leafs would love to see it.
“He certainly has made me a lot better pro, just being around him, watching him, how he goes through his process,” McCabe said. “To have that in your room as a leader is super-crucial for our team, and we certainly don’t take it for granted.”
PHYSICAL IN NATURE
McCabe publicly looked in the mirror after the win, and kudos to him.
The Leafs have to turn a corner in the physical department. They know it, and anyone who has been watching through October knows it.
“I think it’s been a little lacking here this first little while,” McCabe said. “I’m certainly guilty of it too, through the first five, six games.
“I think at the beginning of the year, sometimes you kind of dip your toe in the water, rather than jumping full in. I’ve made it a mission here the last couple nights to bring that side of my game out a little bit more, because I’ve certainly played better, and I know my teammates feed off it as well.”
Maple Leafs teammates John Tavares (right) and Matias Maccelli (left) celebrate a goal during second period NHL action against the Sabres in Toronto, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
In the back-to-back set against Buffalo — including a 5-3 loss to the Sabres on Friday night in Western New York — McCabe had five hits and blocked 11 shots. The fight with Tuch on Saturday came after McCabe laid out Sabres defenceman Bowen Byram with a big check. Tuch instigated and McCabe was happy to oblige, sending the Sabre to the ice with a big right hand.
For Berube, and on this most would agree, it’s not about the fight. It’s about the Leafs being more physical in all areas, especially in the offensive and defensive zones.
“We all have to chip in, in that department,” Berube said. “That’s part of our team. We were a physical, hard forechecking team last year, and we have to get back to it.”
Not having defensive stalwart Chris Tanev (out with an upper-body injury) doesn’t help.
For McCabe to play the way he did with his physicality, it was another element of leadership.
“I thought our guys played hard, I liked the jam they played with, physical, couple nice hits,” Berube said. “And a little bit pissed off.
“We were better defending the odd-man rushes, we were above things all night. It was a low-event game.”
SCRATCH THIS
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Don’t trade Nick Robertson. Certainly not for a draft pick that can’t help you now and might never help you.
In his past six games after being a healthy scratch, Robertson has five goals. So it went on Saturday, as Robertson scored his first of the season.
With Nylander out, Robertson got a look on the top line with Matthews and Bobby McMann.
It was Easton Cowan who set up Robertson, though, for Toronto’s first goal after an effective Leafs forecheck.
“Oh yeah, it was great,” Robertson said of finally getting on the scoreboard. “It was good to get my confidence up.
“I felt a little more familiar (playing with Matthews), a little more puck touches. It’s much easier to get in the game.”
Robertson played with his usual energy. He’s not the big body type that will knock people over, but how about he stays with Matthews on Tuesday, even if Nylander is back? The instincts of Robertson could result in further production playing with Matthews. It’s something that Berube should think about.