At the Horn | Sabres 6 – Maple Leafs 4

Alex Tuch scored the go-ahead goal and the insurance tally late in the third to secure the Buffalo Sabres’ 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a back-and-forth battle at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

Five different Sabres found the scoresheet as JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Greenway, and Tuch all tallied goals in the win.

Defenseman Ryan Johnson, who was recalled from the Rochester Americans on Saturday, recorded his first career point with the helper on Skinner’s goal.

Peterka (1+1) and Casey Mittelstadt (0+1) extended their individual point streaks to five and four games, respectively.

Goaltender Devon Levi finished with 25 stops on 29 shots in his first game back from a lower-body injury.

Auston Matthews tallied three of Toronto’s four goals while Mitch Marner added a goal and two assists. Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll made 34 saves on 39 shots.

GOAL SUMMARY

Period 1, 12:05 – Mitchell Marner from Calle Jarnkrok and Morgan Rielly (1-0, TOR)

Rielly picked off a pass in the Leafs’ zone and fed Jarnkrok, who sent Marner on a breakaway to put Toronto up 1-0.

Period 1, 16:13 (PP) – JJ Peterka from Owen Power and Peyton Krebs (1-1)

Power fed Peterka as he ripped a shot from the left circle with Kyle Okposo in front of the net to tally his fifth goal of the season on the power play.

Period 2, 6:28 (SH) – Tage Thompson, unassisted (2-1, BUF)

Thompson tallied his second shorthanded goal of the year as he stole the puck from Marner and tucked it behind Woll to put the Sabres up by one.

Period 2, 11:22 (PP) – Auston Matthews from William Nylander and Mitchell Marner (2-2)

Nylander fed Matthews in the slot for his first of the game on the power play.

Period 2, 11:56 – Jeff Skinner from Ryan Johnson (3-2, BUF)

Ryan Johnson sent a stretch pass from in the Sabres' zone down the ice to Skinner, who took a slap shot from the left circle to give Buffalo its second lead of the night.

Period 3, 0:17 – Auston Matthews from Mitchell Marner (3-3)

Marner found Matthews in front of the net for his second of the night to tie the score. 

Period 3, 3:11 – Jordan Greenway from Casey Mittelstadt and JJ Peterka (4-3, BUF)

After a save by Woll on a quick shot by Mittelstadt, Greenway put away the rebound to give the Sabres a 4-3 lead.

Period 3, 7:26 – Auston Matthews from Mark Giordano (4-4)

Matthews capped off his hat trick as he tipped in Giordano's shot from the point. 

Period 3, 12:48 – Alex Tuch from Rasmus Dahlin and Connor Clifton (5-4, BUF)

Dahlin ripped a shot from the point and Tuch used his body to deflect the shot into the net to take back the lead once again.

Period 3, 18:54 (EN) – Alex Tuch, unassisted (6-4, BUF)

Tuch sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 1:06 remaining.

HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME COMMENTS

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The Sabres visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday for a matchup at PNC Arena. Coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. while the puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.