With their playoff hopes on the line, the Buffalo Sabres would not be silenced on Tuesday, battling back from a three-goal deficit to earn a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Sabres earned a crucial two points to give them 88 on the season, tying them with the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Both clubs have only two games remaining on the schedule, though Washington holds the tiebreaker and would be the one to advance into the post-season if both teams finish the season tied in points.
After being eliminated from post-season contention over a week ago, the Maple Leafs looked poised to play spoilers in the Sabres' hunt for a playoff spot, earning a 4-3 home win over Buffalo on Saturday and then registering three different multi-goal leads on Tuesday.
Toronto's offensive explosion for five goals against the usually stingy Ryan Miller was a rare one, as it was the first time the Leafs had scored five goals or more against Buffalo since earning a 7-0 win over the Sabres on Apr. 1, 2006, a span of 42 games. In that game, Miller allowed five goals on 17 shots.
The Leafs' top line of Phil Kessel with Tyler Bozak and Matt Frattin provided the offense in the first period, giving the Leafs a 3-0 lead by the time the opening frame was through.
Bozak opened up the scoring, beating Miller from the slot for his 17th goal of the season. Frattin drew the lead assist on the play, his seventh of the season, while Kessel was credited with the secondary helper for his 42nd assist of the year.
A nice passing play by Luke Schenn and Kessel lead to Bozak's second goal of the game, putting the Leafs up 2-0 at the 14:49 mark of the first. The goal gave Bozak his fourth two-goal game this season, while Kessel's assist on the play was his 80th point of the campaign, the first time has reached that mark in his career. Schenn's assist on the goal was his 20th of the season.
After already registering an assist on Bozak's opening marker and dropping the gloves with Marcus Foligno just before the midway point of the first, Frattin notched his first career Gordie Howe hat trick, scoring 1:53 after Bozak to extend the Leafs' lead to three. Frattin's goal was his eighth of the year, while Bozak drew the lead assist for his 29th of the season and third point of the night. Kessel notched the additional assist for his third helper of the game.
Buffalo answered back in the second period, outshooting the visiting Leafs 19-6 during the middle frame to trim Toronto's lead to just one goal.
Tyler Ennis got the Sabres on the scoreboard with a power play goal at the 4:26 mark of the second for his 15th goal of the year. Just past the midway point of the period, Alexander Sulzer scored from the side of the net to trim Toronto's lead to 3-2. The goal was his second of the season and second point of the night after collecting an assist on Ennis' power play marker.
The Leafs extended their lead to two once again early in the third period as Clarke MacArthur scored just 1:28 into the final regulation frame for his 20th goal of the season, marking the second-straight year he has reached that mark. Joey Crabb drew the lone assist on the play, his 15th of the year.
Toronto's lead was trimmed back down to one just 1:56 later when Derek Roy scored on the power play, beating a screened Ben Scrivens for his 16th goal of the season. Cody Hodgson picked up the lead assist, his 22nd, while Jason Pominville earned his 42nd assist of the season after drawing the secondary helper.
Rookie defenceman Jake Gardiner made a great play just past the midway point of the third to extend Toronto's lead to 5-3, circling the net and bouncing the puck off the post and in for his sixth goal of the season. Gardiner's goal came at the 10:39 mark and was assisted on by former Sabre Tim Connolly for his 23rd assist of the season, as well as rookie Joe Colborne, giving him his fourth assist of the year.
A mad scramble around the Leafs net resulted in the second goal of the game for Sulzer as he banged the puck over the goal line at the 14:57 mark to put Buffalo back within one. There was no call initially on the play, but after a lengthy review, replays showed it was a good goal.
With time ticking down in regulation, the Sabres scored off another scramble in front of the Leafs' net, as several players jammed away at the puck. Somehow the puck found it's way through the mass of humanity on the ice in front of the crease and into the back of the net to tie up the game at five. It was Jordan Leopold who was credited with the game-tying goal at the 18:07 mark of the third, his tenth goal of the season.
After Dion Phaneuf took a delay of game penalty at the 1:52 mark of overtime for shooting the puck over the glass, Roy registered the OT winner, blasting a shot from the top of the slot past Scrivens for his second goal of the game and sixth career overtime winner.
The Sabres received an unusually shaky performance from Miller in net, allowing five goals on 25 shots in the overtime victory. At the other end of the ice, Ben Scrivens was busy in the Toronto goal, allowing six goals on 45 shots to drop his record to 3-4-2 this season.
With a Gordie Howe hat trick, Matt Frattin became the first Leaf to accomplish such a feat since Kris Versteeg did so on Oct. 9, 2010. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Frattin is also only the third rookie to register a Gordie Howe hat trick in Leafs history, joining Luke Schenn and Wendel Clark.
Registering three assists on the evening, Phil Kessel became the first Leaf to reach the 80-point mark on the season since Mats Sundin did so during the 2001-02 campaign. Kessel also registered his 100th assist and 200th point as a member of the Leafs with his three-point effort against the Sabres on Tuesday.
Toronto played most of the game with only five defencemen after Carl Gunnarsson was hit hard by Marcus Foligno behind the net early in the first period. The hit knocked Gunnarsson's helmet off as he fell to the ice and was slow to get up. The Swedish defenceman played another shift but would not return with what the team called an upper-body injury. Various reports stated that Gunnarsson left the arena with his left arm in a full sling.
For his part, Foligno was credited with first star of the game honours, collecting two assists in addition to playing a physical role in the Sabres' victory.
The Leafs are back in action on Thursday in their final home game of the season, returning to the Air Canada Centre to take on Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Leafs vs. Sabres Stats Recap
Shots
TOR: 25
BUF: 45
Shot Leaders
TOR: Phil Kessel (8)
BUF: Pominville and Roy tied (6)
Power Play
TOR: 0/1
BUF: 2/4
Blocked Shots
TOR: 15
BUF: 8
Blocked Shot Leaders
TOR: Luke Schenn (4)
BUF: Alexander Sulzer (2)
Hits
TOR: 13
BUF: 14
Hits Leaders
TOR: Mike Brown (3)
BUF: Marcus Foligno (4)
Face-Offs
TOR: 28/66 (42%)
BUF: 38/66 (58%)
Face-Off Leaders (Min. 10 opportunities)
TOR: Matthew Lombardi - 6/11 (55%)
BUF: Derek Roy - 14/22 (64%)
Time on Ice Leaders
TOR: Phil Kessel (23:23)
BUF: Jordan Leopold (26:54)
Three Stars
1) Marcus Foligno - BUF (0G, 2A)
2) Tyler Bozak - TOR (2G, 1A)
3) Alexander Sulzer - BUF (2G, 1A)
For highlights of the Sabres' overtime victory over the Leafs, check out my game recap on the brand new
Leafs Nation Network.
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