Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The goals came fast and furious Friday night in Buffalo, as the Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3, at KeyBank Center.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson scored twice, while Alex Tuch sealed the win with a late shorthanded goal to stave off Toronto's push to tie the game. Meanwhile, Alex Lyon stood tall in the Buffalo crease, stopping 30 shots in the victory.
Buffalo got the scoring started early, as Samuelsson ripped home a wrist shot on a great feed from Ryan McLeod less than five minutes into the first period.
Less than a minute later, Toronto tied the game as William Nylander broke in alone and beat Lyon through the pads to make it 1-1.
The goals kept coming quick, with Buffalo taking the lead right back again. Jiri Kulich capped off a beautiful rush with Tage Thompson and Zach Benson to make it a 2-1 game just 6:12 into the first period.
With Thompson in the box for hooking, the Maple Leafs tied the game at 2-2 on a one-timer from Auston Matthews from the faceoff circle.
Toronto then took back-to-back penalties to give the Sabres an extended 5-on-3 power play, but Buffalo couldn't take advantage, keeping the score level in the final minutes of the first period.
Thompson put the Sabres back in front on a wrister from the slot, making it 3-2, Buffalo, midway through the second period.
It was Samuelsson scoring his second of the night later in the period to extend the Sabres' lead to 4-2.
Toronto made it a one-goal game early in the third period, as Dakota Joshua slammed home a loose puck just 1:55 into the final frame.
As Rasmus Dahlin sat in the box for delay of game, Owen Power managed to feed Tuch in alone for a shorthanded goal to extend the Buffalo lead to 5-3 with just three minutes left in regulation.
Buffalo managed to then hold on for the win, and extend their home winning streak to four games.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 4:38 - Mattias Samuelsson (1) (Ryan McLeod, Alex Tuch); 6:12 - Jiri Kulich (3) (Zach Benson, Tage Thompson)
TOR: 5:01 - William Nylander (3) (Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Carlo); 12:45 - Auston Matthews (5) PPG (John Tavares, Oliver Ekman-Larsson)
Second Period:
BUF: 7:20 - Tage Thompson (2) (Bo Byram, Jiri Kulich); 13:10 - Mattias Samuelsson (2) (Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs)
TOR: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 16:59 - Alex Tuch (3) SHG (Owen Power)
TOR: 1:55 - Dakota Joshua (1) (Easton Cowan, Nicolas Roy)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Mattias Samuelsson - BUF
2.) Alex Tuch - BUF
3.) Alex Lyon - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres and Maple Leafs head North of the border for the back end of their home-and-home series on Saturday night. Faceoff is slated for 5 p.m. from Scotiabank Arena. Catch all of the action on WGR Sports Radio 550, starting with pregame coverage at 4 p.m. with Brian Koziol.