BUFFALO, NY (AP) – Morgan Rielly scored with 12 seconds to go, and the Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a two-goal lead in the third period in a 5-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday. the night.
Joseph Woll stopped 23 shots in his NHL debut and Toronto won for the eighth time in nine starts. John Tavares, Ondrej Kase, Michael Bunting and David Kampf also scored for the Maple Leafs, who were never far behind. Toronto improved to 10-5-1 after a 2-4-1 start to the season.
Buffalo overcame a 4-2 deficit with Jeff Skinner and Rasmus Dahlin scoring 59 seconds apart midway through the third period.
The Sabers were unable to force overtime after they were locked in their own zone for much of the final two minutes to lead to the decisive goal.
Toronto worked the puck back to Rielly at the blue line, where his upward shot sailed through the crowd, hit the crossbar and had enough kickback to seep inside the right post.
Skinner scored twice and added an assist for Buffalo, who fell to 1-5-1 in their last seven.
Tage Thompson also scored for Buffalo in a matchup of two teams that play back-to-back nights and are starting third-row goalkeepers.
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Aaron Dell stopped 21 shots in his debut with the Sabers after Dustin Tokarski stopped 33 shots in a 3-2 win over Edmonton on Friday night with Craig Anderson out with an upper body injury. Signed as an offseason free agent, Dell started in the AHL. He was 1-5 in six games with New Jersey last season, and the win came at Buffalo on April 8.
The 23-year-old Woll regained another memory in Buffalo in the arena where the Maple Leafs selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. It is also where the St. Louis, Missouri-area player won a bronze medal. representing the United States at the 2018 World Youth Championships.
Woll, who made a key opening minute kick to stop Dylan Cozens, started with Jack Campbell resting after a 30-save outing in a 2-1 overtime win over Calgary on Friday night. Starter Petr Mrazek is sidelined with a groin injury.
The Leafs appeared to take control when Kase and Bunting scored 70 seconds apart to put Toronto ahead 3-1 at 8:28 in the second period. And they led 4-2 with 10:38 left after Tavares landed a shot from Rielly for a power goal.
The Sabers were being outscored 5-0 in the third period when Skinner scored his second of the game to cut Toronto’s lead to 4-3 with 9:13 remaining.
Dahlin tied it 59 seconds later with a blast from the blue line, and after Kyle Okposo pulled the puck out of the corner, outnumbering two Maple Leafs players, including Mitchell Marner trying to kick the puck after losing his stick.
SUMMARY OF RIVALITY
Longtime cross-border rivals resumed their series, halted by the coronavirus pandemic, meeting for the first time since the Sabers’ 5-2 victory in Buffalo on February 16, 2020.
“I haven’t missed them,” Sabers coach Don Granato said with a smile of how the Maple Leafs’ arrival in Buffalo usually draws a large crowd of fans dressed in blue and white.
There was a difference with only a few Maple Leafs jerseys in the crowd. In the days leading up to the pandemic, Leafs fans would make up nearly half of the crowd in Buffalo. Although the borders are open, all travelers must submit a negative COVID-19 test, which can cost up to $ 200 each, taken within 72 hours of entering Canada.
BEAT IN BUFFALO
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe changed his lineup to give RW Wayne Simmonds and D Rasmus Sandin a break from playing back-to-back nights. Rookie C Kirill Semyonov played the second game of his NHL career, and D Travis Dermott returned after being a healthy scratch the last two games.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Maple Leafs: Take on the Nashville Predators Tuesday in the first game of a three-game homestay.
Sabers: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
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