With two weeks in a row that the Leafs are in a back-to-back, they faced off against the Detroit Red Wings, and the Buffalo Sabres.

Toronto dropped the first game against the Detroit Red Wings, losing 4-2, off a vintage performance from Red Wings defender Jeff Petry, notching a goal and an assist in the Leafs loss.

After Detroit’s goal in the first period to open the scoring, Auston Matthews responded quickly in the second period, notching a powerplay goal to tie the game at 1-1.

“That was a great play,” Matthews said. “The PK kind of collapsed to the net, so I was just finding an opening so he could get it to me.”

However, Moritz Seider restored Detroit’s lead with a perfectly placed shot to close out the second period.

Matthew Knies was able to tie the game in the third, redirecting a shot from Marner past the Detroit netminder for his 11th of the season.

Detroit was able to hold Toronto off for the rest of the period, with Jeff Petry scoring the game winning goal, and Lucas Raymond scoring on the empty cage for Detroit’s 4-2 win.

The next night however, was a much different game. The Leafs were back home against the Buffalo Sabres.

Early on, Toronto went down 2-0 in the first period after goals from Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch. Max Domi answered back for Toronto as he scored his first of the year to cut the Buffalo lead in half.

“A win’s a win, massive win,” Domi said. “Obviously, coming from behind, it’s not easy against a team like that. You’ve got to give them credit, they came out flying so it felt good to get back into it.”

Halfway through the second period, Jack Quinn scored again to regain the 2-goal lead for Buffalo. Not long after, it was a Toronto takeover.

Nick Robertson scored to cut the lead back down to one goal. Toronto found themselves on the powerplay shortly after, and John Tavares was able to redirect a shot from Auston Matthews to tie the game 3-3. 1:10 later, John Tavares scored again from the slot to give the Leafs the 4-3 lead.

Tavares achieved the natural hat trick when he shot into the empty net to secure his 15th goal of the season, and the 5-3 win for the Maple Leafs.

“I’m just playing,” Tavares said. “I think I’ve got a lot of belief in my game and what I can do, whether that is scoring or just making an impact all over the ice. So just continue to help this team as best I can. My whole life I’ve been able to produce offensively, score goals, and just want to continue to do that when those chances present themselves.”

Domi and Robertson each had a goal and an assist, and McMann had two assists for the Maple Leafs (19-10-2), who are 6-3-0 in their past nine games.

Toronto’s next opponent is the Dallas Stars, then they compete in another back-to-back against the Sabres and Islanders.