NHL-Surging Leafs beat slumping Sabres to stretch winning run

TORONTO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Toronto Maple Leafs won their third successive game on the heels of a five-game losing streak, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Saturday.

Alex Steen and Nik Antropov both had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who appeared to be in a freefall after losing their fifth game in a row a week ago in San Jose, where they blew a 2-0 third period lead.

Despite being under intense scrutiny in the hockey-made city, the Leafs have rebounded since then, beating Carolina and Boston and now the Sabres, who broke a 10-game losing streak with a 10-1 hammering of the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday.

The Sabres tried to rally back from a 3-0 deficit but came up short against the Leafs, who have only won three or more games in a row twice all season.

"We feel a little better about ourselves, Toronto coach Paul Maurcie told reporters. It's been a tough season at times and this group continues to battle back.

"Our confidence is up after a win like this and we got some good contributions from a lot of people tonight."

Antropov scored just 2:05 into the first period and the Leafs added two more goals in the second from Alex Steen and Alexei Ponikarovsky to take a 3-0 lead.

Buffalo battled back on goals by Jochen Hecht at 13:16 of the second period and Daniel Paille nine minutes into the third to make a game of it, but Jason Blake's goal at 13:14 gave the Leafs some breathing room.

"That was a huge goal for us," Maurice said.

Vesa Toskala was sharp the rest of the way, making 26 saves as the Sabres out-shot the Leafs 28-23.

"The whole team played well and we've been much better in a lot of ways in the last few games," Toskala said.

Buffalo are just 1-6-5 in their last 12 games.

* The Dallas Stars snapped the Columbus Blue Jackets' four-game winning streak with a 3-1 win in Dallas.

* Zdeno Chara scored the clinching goal in the shootout, leading the Boston Bruins past the New York Rangers 4-3.

* The St. Louis Blues lost their fourth consecutive game when Scott Nichol scored two shorthanded goals to help the Nashville Predators beat the Blues 5-2.

* Johan Holmqvist made 25 saves for his second shutout in two nights when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays blanked the Ottawa Senators 2-0.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins won without their top player, Sidney Crosby, blanking the Canadiens 2-0 in Montreal. Dany Sabourin made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season. (Editing by Martin Petty)