Buffalo, NY – In a thrilling contest at KeyBank Center on Friday night, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson scored twice to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. This win snaps a five-game losing streak against their rivals and marks Buffalo's fourth straight win at home. The Sabres now have a .500 record of 4-4-0, placing them third in the Atlantic Division.
The game started with high energy, as Samuelsson scored his first goal of the night just 4:38 into the first period. The lead was short-lived, with Toronto's William Nylander answering just 23 seconds later on a breakaway. The Sabres quickly regained the lead when Jiri Kulich scored off a tic-tac-toe play, making it 2-1. However, Auston Matthews responded with a power-play goal at 12:45, tying the game 2-2.
Buffalo broke the tie in the second period when Tage Thompson scored at 7:20, assisted by Bowen Byram. Samuelsson then scored his second goal of the night at 13:10, increasing Buffalo's lead to 4-2. This was Samuelsson's first career multi-goal game.
Toronto's Dakota Joshua scored at the start of the third period, reducing the Sabres' lead to 4-3. Alex Lyon, the Sabres' goaltender, made a crucial pad save on Matias Maccelli during a penalty kill in the final minutes. Immediately after, Alex Tuch scored a short-handed goal, sealing the Sabres' 5-3 victory.
Lyon stopped 29 of 32 shots, earning his third win of the season. Anthony Stolarz, the Maple Leafs' goalie, made 25 saves.
Tage Thompson and Jiri Kulich each contributed a goal and an assist for the Sabres. Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists for the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs were missing key defensemen Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly due to injury. The team also announced that goalie Joseph Woll would be rejoining the team after a leave of absence.
Sabres forward Tyson Kozak left the game early in the first period with a lower-body injury and will miss Saturday's rematch. Additionally, Toronto's William Nylander left the game late in the third period after an apparent cross-check from Jason Zucker.
The Sabres and Maple Leafs will face off again on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
