(SportsNetwork.com) - The Buffalo Sabres headed into the Christmas break playing their best hockey of the season. It was pretty much the opposite for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Catch all the action on TSN and TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm et /4:30pm pt. The Sabres will shoot for a fourth win in five games when they visit the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs in Fridays Atlantic Division battle at Air Canada Centre. Toronto lost seven out of nine heading into the Christmas break, but the club at least has managed to earn points in three straight outings. The Maple Leafs have gone to the shootout phase in each of their last three games, beating Phoenix on Dec. 19 before losing consecutive tilts against Detroit and the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs seemed on the verge of a regulation defeat Monday in New York City, but they came up with a controversial goal after Rangers forward Chris Kreider was sent off for shooting the puck over the glass with 3:34 remaining in the third period. New York goaltender Cam Talbot appeared to cover up David Clarksons chance in-close on the man advantage, but the whistle never blew and Nazem Kadri alertly pushed the puck over the line to make it a 1-1 game with only 84 seconds to go in regulation. However, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello each scored for the Rangers during the shootout, while Joffrey Lupul scored Torontos lone goal in the decisive segment. Kadri had a chance to extend the shootout for Toronto, but was denied by Talbot. Toronto fell for the ninth time in its last 10 road games despite a terrific 42-save performance from Jonathan Bernier. "Our goaltender stood on his head," Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle remarked. "Thats all you can ask in a game like this one." The Leafs are 12-8-1 as the home team this season compared to a 6-8-4 record on the road. Although Buffalo is still last in the NHL with 23 points, the club has recorded four of its 10 wins this season over the last seven games. The Sabres latest victory, Mondays 2-1 overtime win against visiting Phoenix, came with a little bit of luck, as Buffalo was the beneficiary of a bizarre play in the extra session. Mark Pysyk fired a shot from near the right circle 3:47 into the extra session which was initially stopped by Coyotes goalie Mike Smith, but the puck bounced straight up into the air and was batted down by a Phoenix defender and landed in the back of Smiths pants. Smith, unaware of the disc wedged in his pants, turned and slid backwards into the net carrying the puck across the goal line for the game-winner. "I saw it come down and figured it landed. I didnt know where it went from there, but I saw he was in the net and figured it was in," said Pysyk. Tyler Ennis scored the game-tying goal 14:01 into the final session for the Sabres. Ryan Miller made 36 saves in the win. Although Buffalo has picked up the pace recently, the club still enters Friday on an eight-game road losing streak. The Sabres, who last won as the guest on Nov. 5 in San Jose, are just 3-12-1 on the road this season. The Sabres have not fared well in Toronto recently either, losing two straight and seven of the last eight encounters at Air Canada Centre. Buffalo, however, has won three of the past four meetings overall. Buffalo hopes to have leading scorer Cody Hodgson back tonight after the centerman missed the last two games due to an upper-body injury. Hodgson has eight goals and 11 assists to pace the Sabres with 19 points. . Dawson, who could have tested the open market as an unrestricted free agent, decided instead to remain a Knighthawk for the remainder of his National Lacrosse League career. [url=http://www.seahawkssuperbowlxlixonline.com/Elite-Frank-Clark-Seahawks-Jerse... Clark Jersey .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. [url=http://www.seahawkssuperbowlxlixonline.com/Elite-Bobby-Wagner-Super-Bowl-Je... Wagner Youth Jersey . LUCIE, Fla.LOS ANGELES -- Michael Cuddyer is closing in on his first batting title. And he didnt even need to play on Saturday night to help get there. Cuddyer spent the game on the bench with his .333 average and the Rockies beat Zack Greinke and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. Atlantas Chris Johnson went 0 for 4 against Philadelphia and slipped to .321 -- effectively locking up Cuddyers first batting title in 13 big league seasons with one game remaining. "It means a lot," said Cuddyer, who was a teammate of two-time AL batting champion Joe Mauer in Minnesota. "It takes a lot of hard work, sticking to routines and things of that nature -- and a lot of luck along the way, too. Im not too proud to admit that to do something like that, youve got to get lucky. "I went into the season a career .271 hitter. So to be in a position like this, I never would have thunk it," Cuddyer added. "I never thought that when the season ends, Id be on top. Ive never been in that position before, so I was never assuming that I was going to be there. "Obviously when you get into September and youre in contention, you keep plugging away for it. And fortunately, Ive had a good September. But I never tried to get ahead of myself." The 34-year-old right fielder is the sixth player in Rockies history to win a batting crown, joining Andres Galarraga, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Carlos Gonzalez and three-time winner Larry Walker. Cuddyer is hitting .313 outside of Denver, so hes not just benefiting from playing half of his games at Coors Field. "To lead the league in hitting you have to hit well at home and on the road -- unless you hit like .400 at home," he said. "Ive been in this organization only two years, so Ive never really taken that home-road thing to heart, as far as Coors Field is concerned." Juan Nicasio outdueled Zack Greinke for his first victory in six starts and Nolan Arenado had an RBI double for the Rockies. Nicasio (9-9) allowed three hits over 5 1-3 innings and struck out seven while winning for the first time since Aug. 26 against San Francisco. The last time the 27-year-old right-hander faced the Dodgers on July 12 in Los Angeles, he outpitched Clayton Kershaw with seven scoreless innings for the victory. "Thats the thing about Juan. He can step up and have a performance like that,&" Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.dddddddddddd "He was trying to find consistency after being out for much of the time over the last two years. Weve seen that from him earlier this year when he matched up with Kershaw and threw much like that." Adam Octavio followed Josh Outman out of the bullpen in the sixth, retiring Juan Uribe on a foul pop and Scott Van Slyke on a fly ball with the bases loaded. Rex Brothers, the sixth Rockies pitcher, got four outs for his 18th save in 20 chances. It was only the fifth shutout win for the Rockies. "Its just good to go out there and play a competitive game like that and end up winning a really tough game against a really good team," Weiss said. "Im proud of the way our guys have played down the stretch. We fight until the last out, and were going to fight until the last out of the season." Greinke (15-4) allowed a run and four hits through six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and did not allow a walk in his 300th major league game. Troy Tulowitzki doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on Arenados two-out double to left-centre. Greinke lost for the first time in eight decisions since July 25 and finished his first regular season as a Dodger with a 2.63 ERA in 28 starts. He is scheduled to start Game 2 of the Division Series. With Andre Ethiers status for the playoffs in doubt because of shin splints, three other high-profile Dodger outfielders also were missing from the lineup. Centre fielder Matt Kemp was a late scratch because of left ankle soreness, and Carl Crawford was rested by manager Don Mattingly. Rookie Yasiel Puig, who fouled a pitch hard off his left shin and left Fridays game after five innings, pinch-hit in the seventh and struck out. "He was begging to get out there tonight once Matt couldnt go," Mattingly said of Puig. "But I felt like there was no reason for it, being that last second. We didnt know about Matt till five minutes before the game." NOTES: Greinke is averaging 1.86 walks per nine innings in his past 16 starts, after tying a career worst with seven bases on balls at Colorado on July 3. He finished with 19 hits, the most by a Dodgers pitcher since 1993, when Orel Hershiser was 26 for 73. ... Kershaw was presented with the teams eighth annual Roy Campanella Award by former manager Tommy Lasorda before the game. Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '