NEW YORK, 17 March 2004 — Tomas Kaberle scored on a deflection at 3:45 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Buffalo Sabres in National Hockey League play in Buffalo on Monday.
Kaberle deflected a pass from Alexander Mogilny over the shoulder of goalie Martin Biron to complete a stirring Toronto comeback as the Maple Leafs trailed 5-2 after two periods.
Toronto’s veterans took over in the third period, out-shooting the Sabres 13-6 and getting a pair of goals from Owen Nolan and the game-tying goal from Gary Roberts with just 38 seconds left in regulation.
“We didn’t quit when we were down by a couple of goals and that’s certainly a good sign,” Toronto coach Pat Quinn said.
Mats Sundin scored the other two Maple Leaf goals, both in the first period, while Brian Leetch and Mogilny added three assists each.
Jochen Hecht had two goals and two assists for the Sabres, who grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period and scored three unanswered goals in the second period to take a three-goal lead.
Miroslav Satan added a goal and three assists for the Sabres, who lost a valuable point as they try and catch the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
J.P. Dumont had a goal and two assists for the Sabres, while Daniel Briere scored the other goal and added an assist.
Biron made 28 saves for the Sabres, who were badly outplayed in the third period and failed to score on a power play in the overtime. Trevor Kidd made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs as Ed Belfour was given the night off to rest his ailing back.
In other games, Patrik Elias scored the game-winner and Martin Brodeur made 17 saves as the New Jersey Devils downed the New York Rangers 3-1. Dany Heatley scored at 1:43 of overtime and Pasi Nurminen made 31 saves as the Atlanta Thrashers edged the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0.
Sakic Named NHL Player of the Week
Colorado Avalanche centre Joe Sakic, who led all scorers with eight points in four wins, on Monday was named the NHL Offensive Player of the Week.
Sakic collected two goals and six assists as the Avalanche went 4-0-0 last week. He had a goal and three assists in a 9-2 triumph at Vancouver on March 8. San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Korolyuk was runner-up for offensive honors after notching seven points in three games.
