The Toronto Maple Leafs secured their second consecutive victory by defeating the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-1 overtime showdown at the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, March 6th. Following a 4-1 defeat against the Boston Bruins, the Maple Leafs clinched a thrilling win thanks to Auston Matthews’ league-leading 54th goal in overtime, assisted by Mitch Marner.
The first period saw no goals despite Buffalo’s late efforts, outshooting the Maple Leafs 10-6. William Nylander broke the deadlock early in the second period, giving Toronto a 1-0 lead at 17:31, with an assist from Tyler Bertuzzi. Victor Olofsson leveled the score for Buffalo at 13:29, beating Ilya Samsonov from the left face-off dot. The score remained tied throughout the rest of regulation and into overtime.
Auston Matthews sealed the victory for Toronto with just 40 seconds remaining in overtime, assisted by Mitch Marner’s 51st assist of the season. Matthews’ goal marked his 54th of the season, securing the win for the Maple Leafs.
Reflecting on his overtime winner and the match against Buffalo, Matthews credited Marner for his excellent play and acknowledged the importance of redemption after their previous poor performance against the Sabres. William Nylander praised Samsonov’s exceptional performance in goal for Toronto and highlighted Bertuzzi’s crucial pass that led to his goal.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves for Toronto, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for Buffalo. Samsonov’s standout moment came with a crucial glove save on Tage Thompson during overtime.
Jake McCabe was sidelined due to illness, with uncertainty about his availability for the upcoming match against the Boston Bruins. Noah Gregor made his return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for six games, playing 9:02 minutes and registering two shots. Victor Olofsson returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for nine games, following the trade of Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche.