Toronto, Ontario (WGR Sports Radio 550/WBEN) - With a chance to sweep a weekend "home and home" series over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Buffalo Sabres stumbled late at Scotiabank Arena. Leading with less than seven-minutes to play, the Sabres coughed up the game-tying and, later on, overtime-winning goal in a 4-3 defeat on Saturday night.
The Sabres came out like gangbusters in the opening period of play; finally getting rewarded 13:40 into the affair. Tage Thompson labeled the game's first goal, short-side, up and over the shoulder of goalie Cayden Primeau.
Toronto tied things up just before intermission, however. Forward Nicholas Robertson got lost in coverage out in front, and deposited a centering pass from linemate Easton Cowan in behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make it 1-1.
In the second, Toronto grabbed its first lead of the night. Forward Matias Maccelli tipped a puck past Luukkonen for a 2-1 Maple Leafs advantage just 1:59 into the frame.
The Sabres answered back about 12-and-a-half minutes later, with a seeing-eye shot from the point. Bowen Byram let a wrist-shot loose from distance, and it eluded all traffic in front before nestling into the twine to tie things up between the Atlantic Division foes.
Still tied seven-minutes into the third period of play, Thompson vaulted the Sabres ahead once again. On a man advantage, he corralled a rebound, spun himself around, and wired his 50th-career powerplay goal to make it 3-2 Buffalo.
Toronto didn't go quietly, and tied the game one more time in the late stages. Forward Dakota Joshua threw a shot on net from the left-circle, which eluded the glove of Luukkonen.
Joshua's goal knotted things up three goals apiece; a score which would hold through 60-minutes as the teams prepared for overtime.
The Sabres owned possession, and chances, during the extra frame, but a bungled odd-man opportunity ended up going the other way. Thompson was unable to keep stride with John Tavares, and the veteran forward beat Luukkonen for the game-winning goal, 4-3.
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Period:
BUF: 13:40 - Tage Thompson (3) (Jiri Kulich, Mattias Samuelsson)
TOR: 18:33 - Nicholas Robertson (1) PPG (Easton Cowan, Auston Matthews)
Second Period:
BUF: 14:23 - Bowen Byram (1) (Conor Timmins, Ryan McLeod)
TOR: 1:59 - Matias Maccelli (2) (John Tavares, Matthew Knies)
Third Period:
BUF: 7:06 - Tage Thompson (4) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Benson)
TOR: 13:10 - Dakota Joshua (2) (Jake McCabe, Brandon Carlo)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
TOR: 1:28 - John Tavares (5) OT-GWG (Matthew Knies)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1. John Tavares - TOR
2. Tage Thompson - BUF
3. Jake McCabe - TOR
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What's Next:
The blue and gold host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, October 28. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 6:45 p.m. EST with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.