BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a goal and assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs won for just the second time in six games, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman, into an empty net, also scored and the Maple Leafs inched to within four points of the idle Boston Bruins in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division standings. Garret Sparks stopped 22 shots for Toronto, which was playing on consecutive nights after a 3-0 loss at Nashville.

Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander scored for Buffalo, which dropped to 1-7-1 in its past eight. Coming off a 4-3 shootout win over St. Louis on Sunday, the Sabres have gone 41 games since winning consecutive outings. It's a stretch dating to Dec. 11-13, during which Buffalo dropped to 12-24-5.