The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena. With this win, Buffalo now holds an eight-point lead over Toronto in the Atlantic Division standings.
Rasmus Dahlin, defenseman for the Sabres, recorded his first career hat trick and matched a personal best with five points (three goals and two assists). He also scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period. Dahlin became only the second defenseman in Sabres history to reach 400 career points, now totaling 402, trailing Phil Housley who has 558.
Mattias Samuelsson, another defenseman for Buffalo, registered three assists. This marks the second time in his career he has had three points in a game; his previous three-point performance was on December 27 against Boston.
Forward Tage Thompson played his 500th NHL game during this match. He scored his 28th goal of the season and contributed an assist. Thompson had another goal that was overturned after an offsides review.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started for Buffalo but left after 12 minutes due to a lower-body injury. Colten Ellis came in as relief and made 16 saves on 18 shots to secure the win.
The scoring summary began with Matthew Knies putting Toronto ahead before Rasmus Dahlin tied it up for Buffalo. Goals continued back and forth through all three periods, with contributions from Josh Doan, Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, and others. Max Domi scored late for Toronto before Dahlin completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal near the end of regulation.
Buffalo will next play at home against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at 7 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase.
