Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After giving up nine goals on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Buffalo Sabres came alive against their Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at KeyBank Center, running away with a 9-3 victory.
Jordan Greenway gave the Sabres an early lead, scoring in his return to the lineup just 2:27 into the game. Assists on the goal went to Connor Clifton and Zach Benson.
Auston Matthews extended his league lead in goals, netting his 26th of the season as he surprised the Sabres defense and goalie Devon Levi, scoring from a sharp angle along the side boards.
The Sabres got into penalty trouble midway through the first period, as Mattias Samuelsson and Jack Quinn both took back-to-back penalties. It eventually led to a power play goal from Maple Leafs winger Max Domi, who gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.
The scoring continued later in the first period, as Sabres defenseman Owen Power followed up on a play to the net and found a wide-open net to tie the game, 2-2.
Another player returning from injury found the back of the net to give the Sabres the lead once more, as winger Jeff Skinner scored in close over the shoulder of Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov.
Rasmus Dahlin extended the Sabres' lead to 4-2 with a power play goal on a two-man advantage early in the second period.
Toronto quickly closed the gap back to one. scoring shorthanded on that same penalty kill that the Sabres scored with Dahlin. It was Calle Jarnkrok converting a 2-on-1 rush, slamming home a pass from William Nylander.
Less than three minutes later, Tage Thompson scored on a wrister that ended Ilya Samsonov's night in goal for Toronto. Martin Jones ended up taking over in goal for the Maple Leafs, as he stopped 14 shots on 19 shots faced.
Midway through the second period, it was the captain Kyle Okposo with a shorthanded goal to extend the Sabres' lead to 6-3.
The scoring continued in the third period for the home team, as Buffalo netted three more goals in the final frame.
Jack Quinn ended up netting his first goal of the season in just his second game back from injury just past the halfway mark of the third period.
Just 75 seconds later, Skinner netted his second goal of the evening by capping off a pretty passing play from Thompson and Alex Tuch, extending the lead to 8-3.
Then with just under five minutes to play, Okposo finished out the night of scoring with his second tally, giving the Sabres the 9-3 victory.
Devon Levi was solid in net after getting pulled in his last start, making 25 saves in the win.
Thursday marked the first time a team has given up nine goals and scored nine in back-to-back games since the Detroit Red Wings did it in December 1983.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 2:27 - Jordan Greenway (3) (Connor Clifton, Zach Benson); 13:44 - Owen Power (2) (Zach Benson, Casey Mittelstadt); 15:51 - Jeff Skinner (13) (Alex Tuch)
TOR: 7:28 - Auston Matthews (26) (Unassisted); 12:39 - Max Domi (3) PPG (Morgan Reilly, Timothy Liljegren)
Second Period:
BUF: 4:44 - Rasmus Dahlin (9) PPG (Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch); 8:22 - Tage Thompson (9) (Alex Tuch, Jeff Skinner); 11:04 - Kyle Okposo (7) SHG (Unassisted)
TOR: 5:42 - Calle Jarnkrok (8) SHG (William Nylander, Timothy Liljegren)
Third Period:
BUF: 11:08 - Jack Quinn (1) (JJ Peterka, Connor Clifton); 12:23 - Jeff Skinner (14) (Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson); 15:02 - Kyle Okposo (8) (Peyton Krebs, Ryan Johnson)
TOR: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jeff Skinner - BUF
2.) Alex Tuch - BUF
3.) Kyle Okposo - BUF
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What's next:
The Buffalo Sabres hit the road right before Christmas to face the New York Rangers on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for a 7:30 p.m. EST faceoff. Catch all of the action on our sister station, WBEN News Radio 930, starting with pregame coverage at 6:30 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol.