At the Horn | Maple Leafs 6 - Sabres 3

For the Buffalo Sabres, a second matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in six days ended in familiar fashion.

A 6-3 loss Friday at KeyBank Center, in which two Sabres goals were overturned, extended Buffalo’s winless streak to 12 games (0-9-3).

Owen Power, JJ Peterka and Mattias Samuelsson each tallied a goal and an assist. Peterka now has five points in his last three games, while Samuelsson achieved his second-career multi-point performance.

Rasmus Dahlin returned to the lineup after missing seven games due to back spasms; the Sabres captain played 27:33, including 3:01 on the power play.

Sabres forward Sam Lafferty returned after a nine-game absence of his own and played 8:16.

Max Domi (1+1), Mitch Marner (0+2), Bobby McMann (1+1), William Nylander (1+2), John Tavares (0+2) and Nicholas Robertson (1+1) each logged multi-point performances for the Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews and Max Pacioretty added a goal apiece.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped eight of 12 shots before being pulled from the net; James Reimer entered and saved 14 of 15.

Toronto’s Matt Murray made 25 saves on 28 shots in his first NHL action since April 2, 2023.

Here’s more from the loss.

First Period

Toronto opened the scoring just 1:29 into the game. Dennis Gilbert stepped up to deliver an offensive-zone hit, but the Maple Leafs carried the puck the other way for a 3-on-1 rush that ended with McMann finding the back of the net.

The Sabres appeared to tie the game at 3:34, but Alex Tuch’s goal was called back due to a high-sticking double minor on Jason Zucker. Even though no whistle was blown before the goal, the linesman reported the infraction after the play to negate Tuch’s tally.

Matthews doubled Toronto’s lead at 6:05 during the back half of Zucker’s double-minor.

After Samuelsson and Tage Thompson both laid big hits on Matthews, Toronto’s Morgan Rielly responded by fighting Thompson. An additional roughing call on Rielly sent the Sabres to their first power play but they failed to score.

Although unable to put a dent in Toronto’s 2-0 lead, the Sabres generated several quality scoring opportunities as the period progressed and finished the opening 20 with a 9-7 shot advantage.

A physical period saw Buffalo record 13 hits to Toronto's 11.

Second Period

In an early-period 2-on-1, Robertson found space through Luukkonen’s five-hole and extended the Maple Leafs’ lead to 3-0.

Peterka responded just 29 seconds later at 2:22, beating Murray from the left circle to get Buffalo on the board. The tally, Peterka’s ninth of the season, snapped a seven-game goal drought.

Domi restored Toronto’s three-goal lead at 4:27, receiving McMann’s spin-around pass and elevating one under the crossbar. The goal ended Luukkonen’s night.

Pacioretty made it a 5-1 game at 10:47, redirecting Nylander’s centering feed off Reimer’s skate and in.

A top-corner goal 15:56 into the period by Samuelsson, his second of the season and first since Oct. 12, cut the deficit to 5-2.

Several second-period rush opportunities contributed to Toronto's 6-3 advantage in high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

Third Period

Shortly after a couple minutes of 4-on-4, Samuelsson’s net drive led to a loose puck and an open net; Power scored at 11:56 to narrow the deficit to 5-3.

Power seemed to score again on a point shot at 16:34, but Toronto successfully challenged for goaltender interference – Lafferty had made subtle contact with Murray’s stick while crossing in front of the crease.

Nylander secured a Maple Leafs victory with an empty-net goal in the final moments of the game.

GAME RECAP

POSTGAME SOUND

GAME PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Sabres head to Boston for a Saturday night showdown with the Bruins.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.