In Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs found some life in their game, as most do, and defeated the Sabres, 4-2.
Garret Sparks made 22 saves to get the win for the Leafs who improved to 44-25-5 and are within four of the second place Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division.
Auston Matthews collected a goal and assist in the win.
“You never want to lose, and then obviously the little slump we’ve been in lately, it’s frustrating for everybody,” Matthews said. “You try to stay positive but it’s toward the end of the season and you want to make sure your game’s kind of peaking at this point, individually and as a team. Everybody was prepared tonight despite the back-to-back, everybody came out flying and we skated really well. It’s a big two points for us.”
John Tavares also scored for the Leafs.
“I was pretty fortunate on that one. I’ve had really good opportunities the last two days and it’s funny how that’s the one you get rewarded with,” Tavares said. “I heard it hit the crossbar and then I didn’t know where it went, and I saw it just bouncing out of nowhere right in front of me.”
Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander scored for the Sabres.
Buffalo dropped to 31-33-9 with the loss.
Mitchell Marner scored and Zach Hyman added a late empty-net goal for the winners.
“Just sticking with it, staying patient and knowing the type of skillset we have throughout our lineup and the way we’re getting to the net and doing those things we talked about, eventually we were going to get rewarded, and we did,” Tavares said.
[WATCH:Â All Maple Leafs vs. Sabres highlights]
Carter Hutton made 42 saves in the loss.
“I wish I could put it into words. It’s obviously frustrating,” Hutton said. “A lot of us wear it on our sleeve here. We put so much into this. … It’s frustrating. You want to win.”
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