Sabres claim emphatic win over Maple Leafs in top draft pick Owen Power's debut

Tage Thompson scored the winner and added an assist as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night in Toronto.

Kyle Okposo, Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Dahlin and Rasmus Asplund, into an empty net, had the other goals for Buffalo (27-37-11). Alex Tuch and Victor Olofsson added two assists each.

Craig Anderson made 23 saves as the Sabres won the season series 3-1-0 and became the only team to defeat the Leafs three times in 2021-22.

Sabres defenceman Owen Power — the No. 1 pick at the 2021 draft — made his NHL debut after signing an entry-level contract last week. The six-foot-six blue-liner spent two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines before turning pro following his school's defeat in the NCAA's Frozen Four tournament.

NHL goal leader Auston Matthews saw his 16-game point streak come to an end for Toronto, while Mitch Marner's run was halted at 13 contests.

WATCH | Sabres upend Maple Leafs:

Matthews, who is in the process of rewriting the Leafs' record book for goals in season, had found the back of the net 58 times coming into Tuesday but just once in three outings against the Sabres.

Buffalo beat Toronto in the teams' two previous meetings, including a 5-2 victory outdoors at the Heritage Classic in Hamilton on March 13 — an encounter that saw Matthews subsequently suspended two games for a cross-check to the neck of Dahlin.

Power's welcome-to-the-NHL moment came quick — he started for Buffalo against Toronto's top line featuring Matthews and Marner.

Okposo opened the scoring on a Buffalo power play at 7:25 of the first period when he took a pass from Victor Olofsson and beat Kallgren upstairs for his 19th.

Looking to become just the third NHLer to reach 60 goals since 1995-96, Matthews had a