Rasmus Dahlin recorded the first hat trick of his NHL career and added two assists as the Buffalo Sabres extended their win streak to four with a 7-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The win pushed Buffalo to 30-17-5 and marked its 19th victory in the past 23 games dating back to December 9. The Sabres also moved eight points ahead of Toronto in the Atlantic Division standings.
Buffalo overcame an early setback after an apparent opening goal was overturned on an offside review. Toronto struck first, but Dahlin tied the game midway through the opening period before the Maple Leafs reclaimed the lead. Buffalo responded with goals from Josh Doan on the power play and Tage Thompson late in the first period to take a 3-2 advantage.
Toronto tied the game again in the second, but Dahlin redirected a point shot with 1:43 remaining in the period to give the Sabres a 4-3 lead. The goal marked Dahlin’s 400th career NHL point, making him the second defenseman in franchise history to reach the milestone.
Buffalo pulled away early in the third with goals from Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn, building a three-goal cushion. Toronto closed within two late, but Dahlin sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal to complete the hat trick.
Thompson finished with a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL game, while Mattias Samuelsson recorded three assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left the game early with a lower-body injury, and Colten Ellis earned the win in relief with 16 saves.
The Sabres return home to host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Get the latest local headlines every morning at 6 a.m. Sign up for our Get Local newsletter .
Want to see more FingerLakes1.com stories in Google? Add FingerLakes1.com to your preferred news sources to help Google prioritize our reporting in your results.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].