Jack Eichel knew the stakes. So did Kyle Okposo and Jimmy Vesey and the rest of the Buffalo Sabres, who spoke in the days leading up to their meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday about the anticipated emotion of a game that would be crucial to their hopes of clawing back into the playoff race.
They rose to the occasion. The Sabres turned in a dominant first period despite not scoring, parlayed that momentum into a two-goal lead in the second and, after the Maple Leafs tied the game in the third, responded with a barrage of goals from Eichel, Okposo, and Vesey to earn a 5-2 victory.
The Sabres will visit Ottawa on Tuesday having won three games in a row. A 10-game stretch coming off the All-Star break that began 1-3-1 ends 5-4-1, a sign of a team that is getting healthy and has no plans to quit.
Sabres earn 3rd straight victory with complete effort versus Leafs
Okposo tallies 500th point in 5-2 victory
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