Kadri leads Maple Leafs past Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Leo Komarov, Auston Matthews and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto (39-24-15), and Frederik Andersen made 20 saves.
The Maple Leafs took control of the game early with a burst of offense, scoring three times in just 43 seconds.
Komarov opened the scoring 4:26 into the game. Following a giveaway by Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe, Kadri took control of the puck in the right circle before finding Komarov wide open to his left. Komarov had a tap-in for his 13th goal of the year.
Matthews made it 2-0 on a terrific shot at 5:01. After taking a hard pass from William Nylander, the rookie phenom scored his 39th goal of the season on a wrist shot to the glove side.
Just eight seconds later, van Riemsdyk made it 3-0. After a face-off win in the Buffalo zone by Tyler Bozak, Bozak quickly fed van Riemsdyk. Van Riemsdyk kicked the puck to his stick and fired a shot to the glove side for his 26th goal of the season at 5:09.
Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel scored for Buffalo (32-35-12). Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner was pulled from the game after allowing three goals on five shots. Anders Nilsson made 39 saves after replacing Lehner.
O'Reilly gave the Sabres some brief life by getting on the board 1:51 into the second period on a short-handed goal. O'Reilly raced down the right wing past defenseman Jake Gardiner and picked up his 20th goal of the season on a high shot to the blocker side.
Kadri made it 4-1 5:50 into the third after stirring things up around the Sabres' net. Eichel made it 4-2 with 55.6 seconds left on a breakaway goal.
Toronto outshot Buffalo 45-22 overall.
NOTES: Sabres LW Alexander Nylander played in his first NHL game and finished with an even rating in 14:28 of ice time. Nylander was chosen eighth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Sabres. He made his debut against his brother, William Nylander, who plays for the Maple Leafs. ... RW Kyle Okposo, LW Matt Moulson, D Taylor Fedun, D Justin Falk and LW Nicolas Deslauriers were scratched for the Sabres. Moulson was a healthy scratch. ... D Alexey Marchenko, RW Ben Smith, C Eric Fehr, RW Nikita Soshnikov, LW Josh Leivo and D Martin Marincin were scratched for the Maple Leafs.