Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres snapped a five-game skid against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5-3 victory Friday night.
Alex Tuch’s short-handed breakaway goal with 3:01 left sealed the win, and came immediately after Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon stopped Matias Maccelli’s one-timer in front.
The teams meet again in Toronto on Saturday night.
Tuch, Tage Thompson and Jiri Kulich had a goal and assist each in an outing the Sabres never trailed. Lyon made 29 saves.
Buffalo has won four of five since an 0-3 start.
William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Dakota Joshua scored for Toronto, which dropped to 0-2-1 in its past three. Nylander, who has two goals and eight assists over a five-game point streak, did not return after leaving the ice with about five minutes left in regulation.
Anthony Stolarz finished with 25 saves.
For Samuelsson, it was the first multi-goal game of his career, and after scoring just seven times in his previous 217 NHL games. Buffalo’s last win over Toronto was a 9-3 decision at home on Dec. 21, 2023.
After squandering two one-goal leads in the opening period, Buffalo broke the game open with a two-goal second period. Thompson scored on a give-and-go with Bowen Byram 7:20 in. Samuelsson then scored his second on a snap shot from the left circle at the 13:10 mark.
Toronto was minus two top defenseman with Chris Tanev (upper body) on IR and Morgan Rielly (undisclosed).
The Maple Leafs announced earlier in the day goalie Joseph Woll is rejoining the team following a month-long leave of absence due to a personal family matter. Under league rules regarding players on long-term IR, the fifth-year player is eligible to resume playing on Nov. 1.
