Down two goals going into the third period, the Buffalo Sabres finished the job in overtime. Owen Power scored at 3:14 of the extra period Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, and Buffalo beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4. The Sabres improved to 4-3-1.
Jack Quinn started it and finished it. He had two goals and two assists, and he picked up a fight along the way, which made it a Gordie Howe hat trick. His four points matched his career high. In overtime he took the puck at center ice and fed Power, who shot it past Sergei Bobrovsky on the blocker side, according to the Associated Press.
Marchenko’s night, until the third
Toronto’s Kirill Marchenko looked like the story for two periods. He had one goal as a Leaf coming in, after a September 28 trade from Columbus. Then he scored three times. His power-play goal at 13:10 of the first period put Toronto ahead 2-1, a second goal made it 3-2, and a third at 16:51 of the second made it 4-2. It was the fifth hat trick of his NHL career, in his 300th game, according to TSN and the AP.
Auston Matthews had opened the scoring, and John Tavares had two assists before he left the game. Coach Jim Hiller had moved William Nylander up to the top line with Matthews and put Marchenko with Tavares. Toronto outshot Buffalo 15-8 in the first period, according to TSN.
Quinn evens it twice
Quinn tied it at 1-1 in the first period after a giveaway by Toronto defenseman Nick Blankenburg. Early in the second, he tied it again at 2-2, from the high slot. Later in the second he dropped the gloves with Troy Stecher.
Quinn has nine goals in 15 games against Toronto in his career, according to Die by the Blade.
The third period
The Sabres trailed 4-2 after two periods, and they outshot Toronto 11-4 in the third, according to Die by the Blade. Dennis Gilbert, a defenseman playing in his 27th game as a Sabre, scored his first goal with the team to make it 4-3, with Quinn and Zach Benson assisting. Mattias Samuelsson tied it 4-4 on a play with Tage Thompson.
Toronto lost Tavares early in the third. He collided with Josh Norris and went to the dressing room favoring his left leg. There was no update on his condition after the game.
Gilbert, Samuelsson and Power all scored from the blue line, three straight goals by defensemen, in a game Dahlin missed.
Luukkonen stays steady
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves on 30 shots for the win. Bobrovsky made 29 saves on 34 shots for Toronto. Buffalo outshot the Leafs 34-30 overall, according to the scoreboard feed and Die by the Blade.
The Dahlin question
Dahlin missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. Coach Lindy Ruff said Thursday morning that the defenseman had a 50 percent chance of returning this weekend, according to Finger Lakes 1. Buffalo’s next game is Saturday at Montreal, at 7 p.m. Eastern, against the Canadiens team that beat the Sabres 4-3 in a shootout Tuesday.
Die by the Blade’s recap offered a warning along with the praise: “The Sabres simply cannot keep spotting teams leads going into the third period.”
Comments