Frattin lifts Maple Leafs over Sabres 4-3 in OT

[January 30, 2013]  BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Matt Frattin scored his second goal of the game with 1.5 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

Frattin skated in from the left circle and wristed a shot over the shoulder of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

Jay McClement and Cody Franson also scored for Toronto, which snapped a two-game skid. James Reimer made 29 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Jason Pominville, Andrej Sekera and Mikhail Grigorenko scored for Buffalo, which lost its fourth straight. Miller stopped 20 shots.

Grigorenko, the Sabres' first-round choice in the 2012 draft, tied it 3-all at 7:10 of the third period with a deftly placed backhander from the slot. He made amends for being on the ice for the first three Toronto goals.

By playing in his sixth NHL game, the 18-year-old's entry-level professional contract officially began and he is no longer eligible to return to the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec junior league.

McClement opened the scoring midway through the first period, scooping in a rebound after a shot by Nazem Kadri hit the crossbar.

Pominville tied it 5 minutes later, connecting on a wrist shot from the slot during a power play. Sekera put the Sabres up 2-1 early in the second period when he sneaked in from the blue line, took a drop pass from Drew Stafford and beat Reimer on the backhand.

Frattin tied it 72 seconds later, banging in a rebound. Franson put the Maple Leafs up 3-2 at the 6:21 mark, connecting on a slap shot from the right point.

Late in the second period, the teams traded fine opportunities but came up empty. Franson clanged a shot off the post and Buffalo's Steve Ott was foiled on a breakaway by Reimer.

NOTES: Toronto played without Clarke MacArthur, who cut his pinkie Saturday against the New York Rangers, and Mike Komisarek, who had a sliver of fiberglass removed from his eye after practice on Monday. ... Grigorenko had 29 goals and 50 points in 32 games with the Remparts. ... Since moving into their current arena in 1996, Buffalo is 29-9-5 at home against Toronto and has outscored the Maple Leafs 155-101. ... Buffalo defensemen Mike Weber and T.J. Brennan each made their season debuts.

[Associated Press]

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