Mattias Samuelsson scored a pair of goals for the first time in his career to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Buffalo has now won four straight games on home ice, all of which have come against division opponents. The win moved them back to .500 with a season record of 4-4-0, good for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Samuelsson opened the scoring 4:38 into the contest, igniting a back-and-forth first period that ended in a 2-2 tie. His second goal put the Sabres up 4-2 in the second period and stood as the game winner.
The two goals came as part of an all-around strong performance from Samuelsson, who finished the night with five shots and four blocked shots in a team-high 23:26. He was part of a successful penalty kill while the Sabres protected a one-goal lead in the final minutes.
Alex Lyon made a loud pad save to rob Matias Macelli at point-blank range on that same penalty kill, the highlight of a 29-save performance. Alex Tuch carried the puck the other way off the save and scored shorthanded to give the Sabres a two-goal cushion.
Tage Thompson and Jiri Kulich each added a goal and an assist in the win.
The Sabres lost forward Tyson Kozak to a lower-body injury after his third shift of the game. Kozak will miss Saturday’s game in Toronto, coach Lindy Ruff said postgame.
The Sabres and Maple Leafs meet again in Toronto on Saturday. Coverage on MSG begins at 4:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 5.