Opportunity knocked for a few Maple Leafs inserted into Friday’s game in Buffalo.

But they joined a number of mates still seeking October consistency in two-way hockey, part of a third straight loss. Loose defensive coverage and a backfiring late power play factored in a 5-3 fail against the Sabres to begin a home-and-home series. It dropped Toronto’s record to 3-4-1.

William Nylander, who scored early as part of a revamped first line with Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann, was in the dressing room with an undetermined injury when Toronto had a late-game man advantage down a goal. His special teams’ replacement, Matias Maccelli, was foiled by Sabres’ goalie Alex Lyon, leading to Leaf killer Alex Tuch’s short-handed breakaway dagger.

Coach Craig Berube was already missing injured defenc

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