Leafs edge Sabres for third consecutive win
TORONTO -- James van Riemsdyk's third-period goal helped the Maple Leafs edge the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Tuesday night at Air Canada Centre.
Toronto (21-13-8) earned its third win in a row while improving to 9-1-1 in the past 11 games. Buffalo (17-18-9) lost for the third time in four games.
Leo Komarov, Matt Martin and Auston Matthews scored the other goals for the Leafs, while Frederik Andersen made 24 saves for his 19th win of the season.
Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and William Carrier found the back of the net for the Sabres. Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots. Anders Nilsson stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced in relief.
Carrier pulled the Sabres to within one with 2:23 remaining in the third period, redirecting a Zemgus Girgensons feed out of mid-air and past Andersen for his fourth of the season, but that was as close as the Sabres would get.
After Buffalo scored both of the first-period goals, Komarov got the Leafs on the board 32 seconds into the middle period, redirecting a Nazem Kadri shot past Lehner for his eighth of the season. Martin tied the game 2-2 at 8:29, beating Lehner with a shot from the corner while on the goal line.
Matthews gave Toronto its first lead of the night, taking a Zach Hyman feed and beating Lehner with a wrist shot over his blocker at 9:45. With his 22nd goal of the season, Matthews now leads all rookies in scoring.
After allowing three goals on seven second-period shots, Lehner was replaced in net by Nilsson. As he was leaving the game, Lehner was seen exchanging words with head coach Dan Bylsma. Once on the bench, Lehner slammed his mask to the ground in frustration.
Van Riemsdyk doubled Toronto's lead, on a power play, with 6:56 to play in the third, beating Nilsson above the shoulder from the side of the net for his 16th of the season. With the goal, van Riemsdyk stretched his point streak to a career-high eight games.
Okposo opened the scoring after picking off an Andersen clearing attempt and beating the Leafs goalie glove-side at 10:16 of the first period for his 13th of the season.
Kane doubled Buffalo's lead with 33 seconds to play in the period, one-timing a Brian Gionta feed underneath Andersen's left pad for his 12th of the season.
The Maple Leafs blue line endured a major blow in the first period when Morgan Rielly sustained a lower-body injury. Rielly was tripped by Carrier and fell awkwardly into the boards.
NOTES: Buffalo LW Tyler Ennis missed the contest for precautionary reasons as he continues to recover from a sports hernia/groin surgery, which forced him to miss 30 games prior to his return to the lineup on Monday. ... The Maple Leafs recalled D Frank Corrado from his conditioning loan with the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Tuesday. ... Buffalo C Cal O'Reilly was recalled from the AHL's Rochester Americans on Monday and started Tuesday's game on the fourth line. ... Sabres D Cody Franson played in his 500th career NHL game. ... Maple Leafs F Josh Leivo was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. ...The Maple Leafs continue their four-game homestand on Thursday against the New York Rangers. ... The Sabres return home to play host to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.