Toronto, Ontario (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres' busy Wednesday culminated with a 2-1 road overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Earlier in the afternoon on Wednesday, the Sabres announced the acquisition of 22-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for 25-year-old forward Casey Mittelstadt.
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Byram was not in the Buffalo lineup, as he didn't make the trip to Toronto in time to join the Sabres for the matchup with Toronto.
After a scoreless first period, the teams traded tallies in the middle stanza.
It was Toronto striking first as William Nylander's 34th goal of the season made it 1-0, Maple Leafs, just 2:29 in. Nylander was left all alone in front of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and linemate Tyler Bertuzzi served him the puck from behind the net.
The Sabres answered four minutes later, though, and made it a 1-1 contest. Victor Olofsson wired his fifth goal of the year from the left-wing circle high over the glove of Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov.
Another scoreless period in the final 20 minutes of regulation resulted in overtime in Toronto.
Both sides had their chances in the extra frame, but it was Auston Matthews dropping the curtain on the Sabres with his 54th goal of the 2023-24 season. Forward Mitch Marner found the league's leading goal-scorer with a centering pass from behind the net, and Matthews did the rest.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
TOR: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 6:31 - Victor Olofsson (5) (Zemgus Girgensons)
TOR: 2:29 - William Nylander (34) (Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
TOR: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
TOR: 4:20 - Auston Matthews (54) (Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Auston Matthews - TOR
2.) William Nylander - TOR
3.) Victor Olofsson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres cross back over the border to visit the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton starting at 7 p.m. EST.