Joffrey Lupul was benched against Buffalo Sabres

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout on Wednesday night, which is either a cause for celebration or completely disappointing, depending on what you’d like the Leafs’ draft lottery odds to become.

One player that had a good view of that win: Winger Joffrey Lupul, who played just 13:09 in the 4-3 victory. He only had three shifts in the third period and none in overtime as coach Peter Horachek benched him.

From the Toronto Star:

Joffrey Lupul rode the bench for long stretches.

“Joffrey turned the puck over a few times,” said Horachek. “He let a guy go on the backcheck. The guy could have scored. There were two, three, four things that were not up to (Lupul’s) standards. I didn’t think he was on top of his game.”

Lupul has been excellent in his last 12 games. Oh, wait, check that: He's been a complete nothing. He hasn't posted a point since Feb. 3, skating to a minus-3.

So between this and the recent three-game suspension for Nazem Kadri for being late to a meeting and “other things,” the Leafs are showing an impressive commitment to player accountability. Of course, it’s from a coach who won’t be there next season and comes about two months too late, but impressive nonetheless.