Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 3
MAPLE LEAFS 4, SABRES 3: Ben Scrivens made 29 saves as Toronto dealt a serious blow to Buffalo’s playoff aspirations by snapping a franchise-worst 11-game home losing streak.
Matt Frattin secured the win when he capped off a 3-on-2 rush midway through the third period. The trailing player on the rush, Frattin one-timed a beautiful pass from Clarke MacArthur past Ryan Miller to give the Leafs a 4-2 lead.
Ville Leino and Drew Stafford tallied for the Sabres in the final frame but a comeback fell short against Scrivens, who was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League earlier in the day. Buffalo fell two points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference after Washington posted a 3-2 shootout win over Montreal on Saturday.
Defenseman John-Michael Liles scored with one second left in the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead.
Liles' seventh goal bounced in off his leg after Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold tried to clear the puck from the crease.
All-Star Phil Kessel broke a 1-1 tie with his career-best 37th goal at 15:17 on the power play.
Joey Crabb scored his 11th goal with a shorthanded effort in the first period.
Tyler Ennis put the Sabres on the board when he buried a no-look pass from Stafford.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers was a late scratch and is listed as day-to-day. … Miller has lost two straight after posting five consecutive wins. … Thomas Vanek had his three-game point streak snapped. …Buffalo has lost five-straight games in Toronto.