Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3; have won four of their last five games

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Don’t look now, but the Buffalo Sabres have won four out of their last five games. On Friday night, the Sabres got back to .500 with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. After starting the season 0-3, Buffalo is now 4-4 on the year.

5 Observations from Friday’s win:

Hell of an effort in the third period

I thought the Sabres played a great third period. Despite an early goal from Toronto cutting into their lead, the Sabres locked things down, pushed play at the other end of the ice, and were ultimately rewarded with a huge sequence from Alex Lyon and Alex Tuch.

With the Leafs trailing 4-3 and on the power play, Alex Lyon made a huge save on Matias Maccelli with 3:12 left on the clock. Matthew Knies found Maccelli wide open just outside the crease, but Lyon slammed the door shut.

Eight seconds later, after a Toronto turnover, the Sabres had an odd-man rush where Owen Power sent a perfect feed to Alex Tuch, who scored his third goal of the season and sealed the win for the Sabres. It’s almost poetic that the big save at one end turned into the game-winning goal at the other. It was a gritty effort from the team in black and red.

Samuelsson’s big night

I’d bet it’s been a very long time since Mattias Samuelsson scored two goals in a game. Well, on Friday, that’s what he did, providing crucial secondary scoring for a team that’s been looking for it. Samuelsson, who I believe has been solid so far this season, had his best game.

It was encouraging to see him comfortable jumping into the rush and converting on two solid scoring chances. To his credit, both shots were pretty, especially his second goal. When the Sabres get Michael Kesselring back, I’ll really like what their blueline looks like when (and if) everyone is healthy.

Dahlin’s slow start

During the first intermission, I did a Q&A on X and got several questions about the Sabres’ captains' slow start to the season. I’ve noticed it too and think they need more out of Dahlin. However, I’m also confident that he’ll continue to improve as the season progresses.

It’s important to remember his offseason was anything but ordinary. His fiancée had a major health scare in the summer, and I’m sure that was much of Dahlin’s focus, as it should’ve been.

First line has a strong game

In the first period, Jiri Kulich scored his third goal of the season on a very pretty play by the trio of Thompson, Benson, and Kulich.

They followed that up with another gorgeous goal off the rush in the second period, this time from Thompson. It was nice to see Thompson snap his scoring skid with a quick wrister for his second goal of the season. They need him to start finding the back of the net more often, but with the way his line has looked and the chances they’re generating, I believe he will.

Kozak gets injured

Tyson Kozak, who has been great for the Sabres, left the game with an injury. He won’t play on Saturday against the Leafs, which means the team will likely need to call someone up from Rochester. I’d suggest 2024 first-round pick Konsta Helenius, who had four points (two goals, two assists) in Rochester’s win on Friday night.