Early on the morning of February 21 , 1974 , Horton was driving on the Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto to his home in Buffalo after the Buffalo Sabres had played in Toronto the night before , in his sports car . Early on the morning of February 21 , 1974 , Horton was driving on the Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto to his home in Buffalo after the Sabres had played in Toronto the night before , in his De Tomaso Pantera sports car , a gift from Sabres ' GM George `` Punch '' Imlach .