(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. Ryan Zimmerman Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. Adam Eaton Jersey . Catch the action live on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. 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Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. Bryce Harper Jersey .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers pulled off one more bold move before Thursdays trading deadline. Less than three weeks after signing Andrew Bynum, Indiana sent Danny Granger and a 2015 second-round draft pick to Philadelphia in exchange for former first-round pick Evan Turner and forward Lavoy Allen. The teams confirmed the deal late Thursday after the NBAs league office approved it. The draft pick originally belonged to Golden State. Yahoo! Sports first reported the trade. Indiana now adds two young forwards -- players who could help them as they attempt to dethrone two-time defending NBA champion Miami and finally win their first NBA title. But they had to give up Granger, a fan favourite who was once considered the face of the franchise. "We thank Danny for his 8 1/2 seasons with us and we appreciate everything he did for us in his time here," president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in a statement. "We felt we needed to make this trade to strengthen the core unit and our bench. In Evan and Lavoy, we think we got two really good players that can help us and we look forward to what they can bring." What the rebuilding 76ers are getting is 30-year-old forward who missed all but five games last season with a knee injury and almost the first two months of this season with a strained left calf. Granger, who led Indiana in scoring for the five straight seasons before his knee injury, also has an expiring contract, and Philadelphia will get another pick in a draft many believe will be rife with talent. The trade also could help teams on both ends of the NBAs spectrum. Indiana has now picked up three former 76ers this month -- Bynum, Turner and Allen -- in an effort to add more scoring punch for their expected playoff showdown with Miami. The Pacers already have the best record in the East (41-13) and lead the Heat by two games in the chase for home-court advantage. Philadelphia, meanwhile, went into Thursday with the second-worst record in the league at 15-40 and now appears poised to make a run at surpassing Milwaukee for the worst mark in the NBA. In a fluurry of moves, the 76ers picked up a handful of draft picks, a few veterans and lost two of their top four scorers.dddddddddddd Turner, a 6-foot-7 guard, was the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2010 after winning college basketballs player of the year award. He was averaging a team-high 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists and could become a free agent after this season. He has averaged of 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 3 1/2 NBA seasons. Granger was averaging 8.3 points since returning from a strained left calf in mid-December, but he has career averages of 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He played in the 2009 All-Star Game and was voted the leagues Most Improved Player in 2008-09. The 76ers also sent Spencer Hawes, their top rebounder, to Cleveland earlier in the day. He was averaging 13.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in the final year of his contract. But Philadelphia certainly loaded up on second-round picks. In addition to getting Indianas choice, the 76ers also acquired two second-round picks, forward Earl Clark and centre Henry Sims in the deal with Cleveland and added guard Eric Maynor from Washington in a three-way deal that netted a 2016 second-round pick from Denver and a 2015- second-round pick from New Orleans. And the usually cost-conscious Pacers now look like they are loading up on big bodies for the playoffs. Theyve added the 7-foot Bynum, a former All-Star who missed all of last season in Philly because of knee injuries. This season, he signed with Cleveland as a free agent before getting traded to Chicago and then released. Indiana signed Bynum on Feb. 1 and though he has not played, coach Frank Vogel said he didnt expect Bynum to play for a few weeks. Allen, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward, was averaging 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds with Philadelphia. To clear room on the roster, Indiana waived Orlando Johnson, a second-year guard they obtained in a draft night trade in 2012. "Orlando is a great kid," said Bird. "We appreciate everything hes done for us and hope he has a long and successful career." ' ' '