Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning
· National Hockey LeagueGuentzel's goal in the final seconds of OT gives the Lightning a 4-3 win over the Sabres
Guentzel took a long pass from Nikita Kucherov just outside the blue line of the Sabres' zone, skated in and beat Colten Ellis with a low shot to extend the Lightning's winning streak to four games.
Kucherov had a four-point game with a goal and three assists. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Raddysh finished with a goal and an assist. Guentzel also assisted on Kucherov's goal in the first period. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves.
Mattias Samuelsson scored twice and Josh Doan added a goal for Buffalo, which was coming off a win over Florida on Monday night and has won six of its last eight games. Ellis made 31 saves.
The teams traded goals in the first period and, after a scoreless second, each scored twice in the third.
After goals by Samuelsson and Bjorkstrand early in the third, Doan appeared to give Buffalo the edge, scoring a power-play goal with just over five minutes remaining. But, Tampa Bay took advantage of an extra skater and struck in the final seconds as Raddysh scored with 26 seconds remaining to force the extra session.
The Atlantic Division-leading Lightning were coming off a 6-5 win over Boston in an NHL Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. Tampa Bay rallied from a four-goal deficit and won that game in a shootout.
Tampa Bay was without centers Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) and Brayden Point (lower body) and winger Nick Paul (undisclosed). Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before the game that Cirelli and Paul would also miss Thursday’s game against Florida. Cirelli was replaced on Canada’s Olympic roster.
Buffalo was without Zach Benson (upper body), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) and Jordan Greenway (abdomen). Luukkonen’s injury will keep him off Finland’s roster for the upcoming Milan Cortina Games.
Lightning: Host Florida on Thursday.
Regular Season SeriesTB leads series 1-0
Scoring Summary
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Goal | 1st Period 10:24 | Nikita Kucherov Goal (29) Wrist Shot, assists: Jake Guentzel (34) |
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Goal | 1st Period 16:53 | Mattias Samuelsson Goal (10) Wrist Shot, assists: none |
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Goal | 3rd Period 4:08 | Mattias Samuelsson Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (29), Jack Quinn (24) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 8:53 | Oliver Bjorkstrand Goal (9) Snap Shot, assists: Darren Raddysh (34), Nikita Kucherov (59) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 14:53 | Josh Doan Goal (18) Deflected, assists: Tage Thompson (29), Rasmus Dahlin (36) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 19:34 | Darren Raddysh Goal (17) Slap Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (60), Brandon Hagel (27) |
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Goal | 4th Period 4:45 | Jake Guentzel Goal (25) Snap Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (61), J.J. Moser (14) |
Statistics
BUF |
TB |
|
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Blocked Shots | 10 |
| 13 | Hits | 26 |
| 9 | Takeaways | 6 |
| 26 | Shots | 35 |
| 1 | Power Play Goals | 1 |
| 3 | Power Play Opportunities | 2 |
| 33.3 | Power Play Percentage | 50.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 30 | Faceoffs Won | 31 |
| 49.2 | Faceoff Win Percent | 50.8 |
| 22 | Giveaways | 15 |
| 2 | Total Penalties | 3 |
| 4 | Penalty Minutes | 6 |
Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Paul, LW | Out | Feb 21 |
| Victor Hedman, D | Day-To-Day | Feb 18 |
| Anthony Cirelli, C | Day-To-Day | Feb 6 |
| Brayden Point, C | Injured Reserve | Feb 5 |
| Charle-Edouard D'Astous, D | Injured Reserve | Jan 25 |
Buffalo Sabres Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Greenway, LW | Day-To-Day | Feb 6 |
| Zach Benson, LW | Day-To-Day | Feb 6 |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G | Injured Reserve | Feb 3 |
| Josh Norris, C | Injured Reserve | Feb 2 |
| Justin Danforth, RW | Injured Reserve | Jan 26 |
Game Information
Benchmark International Arena
Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:
Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Bay |
37 | 14 | 78 | 4 |
Montreal |
32 | 17 | 72 | 8 |
Detroit |
33 | 19 | 72 | 6 |
Buffalo |
32 | 19 | 70 | 6 |
Boston |
32 | 20 | 69 | 5 |
Ottawa |
28 | 22 | 63 | 7 |
Toronto |
27 | 21 | 63 | 9 |
Florida |
29 | 25 | 61 | 3 |




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