Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 3 (SO)
Tyler Bozak scored late in regulation and added the lone goal in the shootout as Toronto rallied to extend its home winning streak against Buffalo to six games.
Bozak fired a wrist shot in the slot past the glove of Anders Lindback in the opening round and Jonathan Bernier turned aside attempts by Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis and captain Brian Gionta to seal the victory. Bernier also stopped 30 shots in regulation and overtime, while Brandon Kozun and Leo Komarov scored 21 seconds apart in the first period for the Maple Leafs.
Moulson, Ennis and Johan Larsson each had a goal and two assists for the Sabres, who are winless in five games (0-4-1). Lindback made 31 saves, but saw his winless stretch extend to four appearances since being traded to Buffalo.
Larsson opened the scoring 6:52 into the contest on a broken odd-man rush off a Toronto turnover before Kozun fired a shot from the slot between Lindback’s pads at 14:09 and Komarov tipped in Booth’s centering pass at 14:30. Ennis knotted the contest 1:32 later when he knocked in a feed from Moulson on the doorstep.
Moulson put Larsson’s centering feed around Bernier to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead 11:50 into the second period, which held until Bozak deflected Phil Kessel’s shot on a power play with 3:25 remaining in regulation. Bernier and Lindback traded great saves during overtime as each team recorded five shots in the extra five minutes.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto F Nazem Kadri was a healthy scratch for the second straight game for disciplinary reasons. … Moulson has seven points in his last six games (one goal, six assists), while Ennis has six points (two goals, four assists) in three meetings with the Maple Leafs. … The Maple Leafs and the Sabres meet once more in Buffalo on April 1 to finish their four-game season series.