Tuch scores twice in 3rd period as Sabres win back-and-forth affair in Toronto

TORONTO – Alex Tuch delivered the final counterpunch for the Buffalo Sabres in their back-and-forth affair with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, then added the knockout blow as an encore.

Tuch deflected a Rasmus Dahlin shot to break a 4-4 tie with 7:12 remaining in the third period, then turned in a dominant effort on an end-to-end rush to score an empty-net goal and seal a 6-4 victory for the Sabres inside Scotiabank Arena.

The Sabres – after falling behind in the first period – had led three separate times before Tuch scored the winner.

“I thought we did a really good job,” Tuch said. “Even if they scored, we didn't let them get too much momentum. We didn't sit back and whine and complain, we just kept playing Sabres hockey.”

The Sabres were 24 hours removed from a disappointing home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and were without key players in forward Dylan Cozens and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, both of whom missed the game with injuries.

JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, and Jordan Greenway scored goals before Tuch added two in the third period. Defenseman Ryan Johnson joined the team from Rochester and delivered an assist in his NHL debut while fellow rookie Devon Levi returned from injury and made 25 saves.

The Sabres finished with a 41-29 advantage in shots.

“It was a reflection of a lot of anger,” Sabres coach Don Granato said, referencing the team’s reaction to their performance against the Flyers. “I'm not speaking just for myself. The room took it to heart. They were disappointed to be below their standard and they rose to it tonight.”

Auston Matthews scored a hat-trick for Toronto. Each of his three goals came after the midway point of the second period, and each of the three erased a one-goal Sabres lead.

Any of those goals could have shifted momentum in Toronto’s favor, but the Sabres never relented.

“It took all 20 of us and wherever we were on the ice, it was all five guys forechecking, all five guys backchecking, and all six guys keeping an eye on the net tonight,” Tuch said. “

“So, obviously we let up four goals but it's a high-powered offense over there and the game got opened up at times, but we pulled away with a win and that's all that matters.”

Here’s the breakdown from a busy win in Toronto.

1. The Sabres dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the absence of Cozens and Samuelsson. Sabres coach Don Granato said the team received positive updates on both players Saturday morning, though Samuelsson will miss a minimum of seven days after being placed on injured reserve.

2. Toronto opened the scoring during the first period on a breakaway goal from Mitch Marner. Peterka buried a shot from the left faceoff circle on the power play to even the score at 1-1 before intermission.

Peterka finished the night with a goal, an assist, and four shots and extended his point streak to five straight games. Granato credited the performance to Peterka’s approach to putting pucks behind the Toronto defense and using his speed to retrieve them.

“That's gained experience and he was exceptional at that tonight,” Granato said. “The best I've seen him yet.”

3. Thompson gave the Sabres their first lead with a shorthanded goal during the second period. He stole the puck from Marner in the neutral zone then buried a hard wrist shot on a breakaway for his sixth goal of the season and second shorthanded.

4. Johnson only skated 8:20 as the Sabres rotated seven defensemen and spent much of the first 40 minutes on special teams, yet he still found a way to make an impact. The 2019 first-round pick skated from pressure in his own zone and delivered a stretch pass to the opposite blue line, where Skinner was waiting to receive the puck and bury a slap shot on the rush.

The goal put the Sabres ahead 3-2 going into the second intermission.

“You could see the entire play, the body language, [Johnson] knew somebody was open and he knew he could get the puck there,” Granato said. “It was obviously tape to tape. Very big goal at a big moment.”

5. Johnson played for the Amerks on Friday and was set to travel with the team Saturday for their game in Syracuse but found out in the morning that he would be traveling to Toronto instead.

“I was just like super surprised, honestly,” he said. “I was supposed to go to Syracuse. So that was really fun for them to tell me, and to have the opportunity, I was so grateful.”

6. Matthews scored his second goal just 17 seconds into the third period, a shot in front of the net assisted by Marner. The Sabres responded less than three minutes later when Peterka drove the puck down low and sent a pass to Casey Mittelstadt in the slot.

Mittelstadt’s shot was turned away by goaltender Joseph Woll, but Greenway was in position to deposit the rebound. The assist extended Mittelstadt’s point streak to four games.

7. It was Tuch’s turn to shine after Matthews tied the game for the third and final time on a deflection with 12:34 remaining. Tuch scored the winner on a deflection of his own, while his empty-net goal served as a prototypical example of his rare blend of speed, size, and skill.

Tuch initiated the sequence by blocking a shot in the high slot. He poked the puck behind Nylander then again past John Klingberg as he raced down the ice, leaving both Maple Leafs in his wake.

“It was the first night you got a feeling of Alex Tuch finally starting to be Alex Tuch, finally getting to his game and asserting some dominance in moments,” Granato said. “He's going the right direction so we certainly look forward to him getting back to that.”

Up next

The Sabres visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.