The Toronto Maple Leafs skated away with a 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo last night, but not before Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 60th goal of the season and Ilya Samsonov remained dialed in to post the 34-save shutout. The atmosphere in Buffalo was so overwhelmingly positive for the Leafs that even Max Domi couldn't help but address Leafs Nation after the game on social media.
Domi took to Twitter late Saturday evening to address the team's rabid fanbase directly, who filled the stands at KeyBank Center, making it feel more like a home game than a road game. Domi was very grateful when addressing the fans, and also took the time to lift up one of his teammates as he celebrated Matthews' big night, hitting 60 in the city that he was drafted 1st overall by the Leafs in, way back in 2016.
Throughout the game, the fans in the arena were chanting "We Want Six-ty!" and "MVP!" every time Matthews had hopped over the boards. They were raucous every time Ilya Samsonov made a big save, and more lively than the business class that typically occupies most of the lower bowl at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Needless to say, to hear a building that loud all night not only created a great atmosphere for the game, but the players felt it as well.
For Domi, his name didn't end up on the scoresheet, as he didn't record any points on the evening, but he did finish a +1 with 1 shot on goal and a blocked shot, going 3/4 in the faceoff dot. Still, even during a game in which he had only played a hair over 12 minutes, he was the first one to celebrate his teammates and compliment the fanbase - one of the many reasons his teammates and the fanbase love him. At this point, I'm sure many of us are counting down the days until his extension is announced, which feels like a formality at this point with how well he has fit in this season.
