‘We’re on a bit of a heater right now’: Mattias Samuelsson, Alex Tuch tandem to lead Sabres past Toronto
Mattias Samuelsson scored two goals and Alex Tuch added a shorthanded goal in the third period to lift the Sabres to a 5-3 win against Toronto.
Mattias Samuelsson can’t remember the last time he scored two goals in a game.
“That’s a good question,” the Buffalo Sabres defenseman said. “A long time. A really long time.”
Maybe it was during his youth hockey days in suburban Philadelphia, but it definitely wasn’t anything he’s done in his first five seasons of professional hockey.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) celebrates his goal in the second period of their game
against the Toronto Maple Leafs at KeyBank Center on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. Joed Viera/Buffalo News
That changed in Samuelsson’s sixth game of his sixth pro season. He scored two goals Friday night to help the Sabres to a 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first half of a home-and-home series between the two teams.
“That was a big point for me this year, to get involved,” said Samuelsson, who also blocked four shots and had a plus-4 rating against the Maple Leafs. “Obviously, I’m not some offensive defenseman like Ras (Rasmus Dahlin) but you can get up and be the ‘four man’ and get your chances here and there.”
Samuelsson provided the unexpected scoring punch, giving the Sabres a 1-0 lead with 4:38 left in the first, and then opening the Sabres’ lead at 13:10 of the second on a wrist shot from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Dahlin, which helped the Sabres earn their fourth win in the last five games − all wins against Atlantic Division teams.
“We’re on a bit of a heater right now,” said Tage Thompson, who scored a goal with an assist. “Can’t get too high and forget what made you successful.”
Then, Alex Tuch stepped in to provide the lead in a late-game defensive stand, with less than five minutes left in the game and his team ahead by a goal.
The Sabres spent much of the third period hanging onto a one-goal lead, after Toronto center Dakota Joshua cut the lead to 4-3 less than two minutes into the third. The Maple Leafs put 12 of their 32 shots on goal in the third period, and appeared ready to pounce and possibly force overtime with a late goal in the final five minutes.
Tuch was part of a unit that killed off a delay-of-game penalty against Dahlin, called with 15:23 of the third period after he flipped the puck over the glass from the defensive zone.
Tuch showed why he’s worthy of consideration as a candidate for the Selke Trophy, given to the top defensive forward in the NHL.
Tuch and the Sabres contained some of the Maple Leafs’ more potent offensive threats, including John Tavares and Matthew Knies, who combined for 17 points in their first seven games. Knies and Tavares combined for one point Friday.
Tuch blocked Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s wrist shot 19 seconds into the kill. Tuch scored on a 2-on-1 off a pass from Owen Power with 3:01 left in the third that came after Power intercepted Ekman-Larsson's pass. Tuch beat Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz (25 saves) on a backhand shot to give the Sabres (4-4-0) some late-game breathing room. Tuch finished with a plus-2 rating and had four of the Sabres' 21 blocked shots.
“He’s such a big body and skates so well,” Thompson said of Tuch. “He’s so strong on the puck. Any time you’re going against him, as a power-play unit, you don’t have as much time or space to make plays. You think you do, but he’s so rangy that he can get to you, pretty quick.”
Tuch played 3:25 of the Sabres’ four penalty-kill minutes, and leads a unit that entered the weekend second in the NHL on the penalty kill, allowing one power-play goal in 26 attempts. (96.2%)
“Our kills have been pretty good all year,” Sabres goalie Alex Lyon (29 saves) said. “When you prepare the right way and do the right things, you have that confident feeling. Those are less stressful situations but (Toronto) has two of the most dangerous power-play guys in the league. You try not to grip your stick. You don’t want to panic in that situation. It’s important to remain calm. They can get humming around pretty good.
“But you have to stay in the moment, get through those experiences and when you’re successful in those experiences, it’s going to matter, later on. It’s going to matter tomorrow. Then it’s going to matter next week, and then it’s going to matter later in the season.”