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Goalkeeper Matt Murray needed some help from all corners to win his first game in close to two seasons.
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His team’s offence, the on-ice officials and Toronto’s video coaches all were part of the support group in a 6-3 final over the Buffalo Sabres that was closer than it needed to be.
In his first game back in 638 days after bilateral hip surgery, Murray made 24 saves on Friday night at the KeyBank Center.
With the scoring support he received, it should’ve been well in hand, up four goals late in the second period against a club winless in its past 11. But goals by Mattias Samuelsson and, midway through the third, Owen Power closed the Sabres to within two. Then, for a moment, it was down to one before a successful challenge confirmed that Sam Lafferty had skirted the blue paint and tied up Murray’s stick on a long-range goal.
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That loosened blue and white collars before a William Nylander empty-netter made John Tavares the 102nd NHLer to get 600 career assists.
But it was the Leafs’ third line which, for the second game in a row, led the way with each of Max Domi, Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson collecting a goal — all among six forwards who had multi-point nights.
Auston Matthews, on the power-play, and Max Pacioretty had the other Toronto tallies.
Murray had not played since April of 2023. Since then, at least three goalies had a run at the No. 1 position that Murray had hoped to take over. But it took minor knee surgery to Anthony Stolarz and a needed rest for Joseph Woll to get Murray promoted from the Marlies.
His inspirational months of rehab got him back to AHL action at the end of last year, but weren’t the end of his story. After signing a minimum-wage deal, the near-forgotten man played well enough on the farm this autumn to get a longer look with the Leafs as backup ahead of Dennis Hildeby after Stolarz was hurt.
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The 30-year-old Murray started Friday with an alert arm stop on Beck Malenstyn.
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It was Toronto’s season-high third straight five-goal performance in victory, though it was against a Buffalo side that’s given up five on 11 occasions this season. Toronto retained at least a piece of first place in the Atlantic Division pending the Florida-St. Louis result.
There have been countless tales of the Leafs going into Buffalo with all the friendly crowd support, but laying a huge egg.
But they were good and lucky, going up 2-0 after 20 minutes. McMann opened the scoring when Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen bet wrong that Domi would pass before he fed McMann from a tight angle. Robertson took a hard hit to start the play.
The Sabres’ joy at Alex Tuch apparently tying it was short-lived. A linesman had spotted Jason Zucker high-stick Chris Tanev to cause a gusher nose bleed and reported it with Nylander eluding three Sabres sticks to feed Matthews late in the double minor.
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Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann, right, celebrates with Nicholas Robertson, centre, and Max Domi (11) after scoring during the first period against the Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.Matthews, who caused much murmuring by missing the morning skate with a maintenance issue tied to his slow return to full impact from an upper body injury, scored his 11th. After Matthews took a couple of hard hits on the same shift, including a stiff shoulder by Tage Thompson, defenceman Morgan Rielly went after the large Sabres forward, perhaps willing to risk the Leafs could handle Buffalo’s 30th-ranked power play.
Robertson used Domi as a decoy before sinking a five-hole goal, then sent McMann in with Domi, who took the backhand drop and scored his third of the season. For Robertson it’s a career-high three-game goal streak.
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Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, whose earlier tenure in this arena saw years of sustained success against Toronto, pulled Luukkonen for ex-Leaf James Reimer. A botched line change resulted in Pacioretty tapping in his fifth of the season.
Woll likely starts Saturday at home against the New York Islanders, who had the benefit of Friday off.
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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