Matthews goal late in OT gives Maple Leafs win against Sabres

BUFFALO -- Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the game with 2.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

"I didn't really know how much time was left and kind of towards the end of my shift decided to stay out there, and I was just able to pull it in and pick a corner," said Matthews, who has 15 goals in 14 games this season. "Lucky to get it off with a little bit of time remaining, and I think everybody's going home pretty happy on our side."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Sabres highlights]
Jake Gardiner and Patrick Marleau scored, and Frederik Andersen made 38 saves for the Maple Leafs (20-8-0), who have won five straight games and matched their record for fewest games to reach 20 wins, set in 1934-35.
"We're in a real battle here with Buffalo," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "You're in a battle to get better and you're in a battle for the standings at the same time. But the way the division is, it's going to be real tight all year. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Jack Eichel scored twice in the third period, and Sam Reinhart had a goal for the Sabres (17-8-4), who have lost four straight following their 10-game winning streak, including 2-1 at the Nashville Predators on Monday. Linus Ullmark made 26 saves.
"We just played two of the top five teams in the NHL on a back-to-back, and we traveled," Eichel said. "I thought we played a great game tonight. Obviously, they get the extra point and it's frustrating, but give us credit. … They're sitting here waiting for us. It's not easy, and I thought we brought a lot of compete and effort."
Eichel tied the game 2-2 at 2:39 when he one-timed Rasmus Ristolainen's pass from the bottom of the left face-off circle.
Eichel capitalized on a Maple Leafs turnover to put the Sabres ahead 3-2 at 12:57 with a shot from the slot.
"He's been playing terrific," Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. "Tonight, he was a beast again. It's good to see him finally find the net again. He's contributing in so many other ways, not only just with scoring goals, but playing a 200-foot game."

Marleau tied it 3-3 1:50 later when he took the rebound of a Morgan Rielly shot off the end boards and beat Ullmark short side at 14:47.
Matthews made a leaping grab of a deflected Ron Hainsey shot and brought it down for the wraparound to give Toronto a 1-0 lead at 8:33 of the second period.
"I think he knew the puck was up in the air; he might have been one of the few ones nearby and knew where it was," Marleau said. "I think he knew he had the advantage, and as quick as he was on one side, he was on the other and putting it in."
Reinhart tipped Nathan Beaulieu's point shot at 14:01 to tie it 1-1.
The Maple Leafs went ahead 2-1 with 9.6 seconds remaining in the second on Gardiner's goal. Mitchell Marner sent a cross-ice pass to John Tavares, who left a drop pass for Gardiner in the bottom of the right circle.

They said it

"He's definitely a game-changer any time he can get open and get the shot. I don't know who you could even compare him to. He's very unique in that respect. There's been some in the past, but I think you take him for what he is and say, 'It's Auston.'" -- Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau on Auston Matthews

"It's not easy right now, for sure. It's pretty disappointing. We have a couple days to kind of take a step back and really look at what we've done and what we've accomplished in this amount of time. We've got to find a way to get back on the winning side of things, and that starts Saturday." -- Sabres forward Sam Reinhart

Need to know

Matthews is the second player since 1996-97 to score at least 15 goals in his first 14 games of a season, joining Simon Gagne, who scored 16 in 2005-06 for the Philadelphia Flyers. … Eichel has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 10 career games against the Maple Leafs. … Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson left the game at 2:24 of the second period with an undisclosed injury. Housley didn't have an update after the game.

What's next

Maple Leafs: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Sabres: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; SN, MSG-B, NBCSP, NHL.TV)