John Tavares celebrates his overtime game-winning goal against the Sabres on Saturday.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
John Tavares scored his 499th career goal on a breakaway at 1:28 of overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a three-game slide with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (4-4-1). Cayden Primeau made 23 saves in place of the rested Anthony Stolarz. Tavares added an assist, Matthews Knies had two of his own.
Tage Thompson scored twice and Bowen Byram had a single for Buffalo (4-4-1). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 18 shots for the Sabres, who entered having won four of their last five.
Thompson and Robertson traded goals in the first period. Maccelli and Byram did the same in the second before Thompson and Joshua repeated the feat in the third to set up the OT dramatics.
The Sabres picked up a 5-3 victory over the Leafs on Friday in Buffalo to snap a five-game slide against Toronto.
The Leafs were minus star winger William Nylander, who was listed as a game-time decision, because of a lower-body injury.
After the visitors went up 3-2 in the third on a Thompson power-play goal, Joshua tied the score with under seven minutes to go in regulation.
Tavares sits one goal shy becoming the 49th player in NHL history to reach 500 for his career.
Up next, the Sabres will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, as the Leafs host the Calgary Flames.