William Nylander scored two goals, John Tavares had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Buffalo Sabres 5-2 Saturday night.
Calle Jarnkrok and Mark Giordano also scored for the Maple Leafs. Mitchell Marner added two assists. Matt Murray made 32 saves in his third consecutive start.
Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Sabres, who have lost eight in a row.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making his first start this season, stopped 18 shots for Buffalo.
Toronto led 3-0 after the first period.
Tavares scored his 10th goal of the season on a power play at 12:58. It came on a deflection of a shot by Marner, who extended his points streak to 12 games with the assist. Morgan Rielly also assisted. Riley Sheahan was off for hooking.
Jarnkrok scored his fourth goal of the season at 17:27 on a 27-foot shot. Pierre Engvall and Rasmus Sandin assisted.
Giordano scored his first goal of the season at 18:21 while Toronto was short-handed. Marner set up the play and David Kampf also got an assist. The net was knocked off its moorings and the goal was initially disallowed, a call overturned by video review.
Toronto had a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal after one period.
Tuch scored his ninth goal of the season at 10:01 of the second period on a deflection during a power play. Dylan Cozens and Rasmus Dahlin earned assists. Auston Matthews was off for a check to the head.
Nylander knocked in a loose puck during a power play at 14:52 of the second. Tavares and Matthews had assists. Henri Jokiharju was off for slashing.
Buffalo led 20-17 in shots on goal after two periods.
Nylander scored his 10th goal of the season at 10:37 of the third period on a 10-foot backhand shot. Tavares picked up the assist.
Mittelstadt scored his fifth goal of the season on a power play at 15:07 of the third. Victor Olofsson and Owen Power had assists. Timothy Liljegren was off for boarding.
–Field Level Media
