Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 1: Captain Steve Ott recorded a goal and an assist as Ted Nolan made a victorious return behind the bench for host Buffalo.

Ryan Miller turned aside 32 shots and Marcus Foligno scored the go-ahead goal as the Sabres won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Nolan was named interim coach on Wednesday following the dismissals of coach Ron Rolston and general manager Darcy Regier.

Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff added an empty-net goal to secure the victory for Nolan, who received a standing ovation in his first game coaching in Buffalo since May 1997. Blue-liner Mark Pysyk collected two assists as the Sabres posted only their fifth overall win and second regulation victory of the season.

Trevor Smith scored and Jonathan Bernier made 24 saves for Toronto, which saw its winless streak reach three games and has netted only four goals during a 1-3-1 skid. The Maple Leafs lost despite outshooting their opponent for the first time in 16 games.

Called up from the minors earlier in the day, Smith opened the scoring just before the 6 1/2-minute mark of the second period, when his snap shot clipped Ehrhoff and sailed past Miller. Ott tied it just over three minutes later, swooping in to bury the rebound of defenseman Tyler Myers' blast, before setting up an onrushing Foligno for a backhander and the lead with 4:38 left in the period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nolan spent his first two seasons as an NHL head coach with the Sabres from 1995-97, winning the Jack Adams Award in his second campaign. ... Toronto C Nazem Kadri served the first contest of a three-game suspension for plowing over Minnesota G Niklas Backstrom on Wednesday, prompting the recall of Smith. ... Ott registered his first multi-point performance since March 19, when he scored two goals against Montreal.