Toronto, Ontario (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A five-point night from captain Rasmus Dahlin, including his first-career hat-trick, helped propel the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The Sabres thought they had an early one-goal lead less than four minutes into the game, as Tage Thompson was able to sneak the puck into the net from an odd angle.
However, Toronto challenged the goal for offside and were successful, taking the tally off the board with 16:25 remaining in the first period.
A blocked shot in front of the Sabres net resulted in Matthew Knies finding a loose puck and sliding it into an empty net. Jake McCabe took the initial shot from the blue line that resulted in Knies' 13th goal of the season for a 1-0 Maple Leafs lead.
Dahlin was able to answer for Buffalo several minutes later when the defenseman tried to pass the puck to the Maple Leafs crease. Jason Zucker was skating to the front of the net, with Morgan Reilly trailing, and the puck deflected off of Reilly's skate and into the net.
Dahlin's ninth goal of the season tied the game, 1-1, midway through the first period.
Ryan McLeod and Mattias Samuelsson were credited with the assists.
Just over a minute later, though, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was able to connect on a rebound in front of the net to give them the lead again. Matthews was at the top of the crease when Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could not hold onto the initial shot.
Shortly after, Luukkonen left the ice and went to the Sabres dressing room. He ended up being ruled out of the game with a lower-body injury.
Colten Ellis ended up replacing Luukkonen in net.
The first penalty of the night was called on Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, and it allowed Buffalo to, once again, tie the score in the first period.
Josh Doan's 16th goal of the season went off of a Toronto player's stick, resulting in the power play score.
Dahlin recorded his second point of the game with the lone assist.
Late in the first period, Thompson was able to record his first point of the game with a goal thanks to a screen in front of the net. Zach Benson was there to provided the screen in front of Toronto goalie Joseph Woll, resulting in Thompson's 28th goal of the season.
Buffalo was able to take a 3-2 lead heading into the locker room for the first intermission.
The Maple Leafs' ninth shot of the game yielded the game-tying goal midway through the second period. An initial shot from Matthews from the slot was blocked, but forward Bobby McMann was trailing and scored his 17th goal of the season.
Matthews and Max Domi were credited with the assists on the game-tying goal.
Samulesson's second point of the night came after his shot to the front of the Maple Leafs net was deflected by Dahlin to give Buffalo a 4-3 lead late in the middle period.
It is Samulesson's seventh multi-point game of the season, as well as the second-consecutive game he has recorded two points.
Dahlin's second goal of the game was his 10th of the season, and it also marked a milestone for the Sabres captain.
The Sabres added to their lead just 16 seconds into the third period when Alex Tuch had a second-chance opportunity and swung the puck at the net from a bad angle to score the goal.
Thompson and Samuelsson assisted on Tuch's 19th goal of the year.
Jack Quinn added to Buffalo's lead with his 12th goal of the season. He was able to beat Woll with a wrist shot after Dahlin sent the puck up ice.
It was Dahlin's second assist of the game and fourth point of the night to help increase the lead to 6-3.
The defenseman has racked up 13 points in his last 11 games.
Toronto was able to score with just over five minutes remaining in regulation to cut the deficit to two goals. Domi scored his eighth goal of the season, making it 6-4 in favor of Buffalo.
However, the Sabres capped off their win with an empty-net goal from Dahlin, who completed the hat-trick and secured his fifth point of the evening.
For Dahlin, he becomes the seventh Sabres defenseman to register a hat-trick in franchise history, and the first since Rasmus Ristolainen did so back in December 2015.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 9:29 - Rasmus Dahlin (9) (Ryan McLeod, Mattias Samuelsson); 13:16 - Josh Doan (16) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin); 18:05 - Tage Thompson (28) (Unassisted)
TOR: 7:44 - Matthew Knies (13) (John Tavares, Matias Maccelli); 10:49 - Auston Matthews (26) (Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson)
Second Period:
BUF: 18:15 - Rasmus Dahlin (10) (Mattias Samuelsson, Peyton Krebs)
TOR: 11:17 - Bobby McMann (17) (Auston Matthews, Max Domi)
Third Period:
BUF: 0:16 - Alex Tuch (19) (Tage Thompson, Mattias Samuelsson); 11:33 - Jack Quinn (12) (Rasmus Dahlin); 19:16 - Rasmus Dahlin (11) ENG (Unassisted)
TOR: 14:59 - Max Domi (8) (Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann)
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BlueStar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
2.) Tage Thompson - BUF
3.) Mattias Samuelsson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres return home following the road trip with a Thursday night meeting against the Los Angeles Kings. Faceoff at KeyBank Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550. Pregame with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog starts our coverage at 6 p.m.