NHL

Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning

· National Hockey League
Buffalo Sabres
35-19-6
Final
6 - 2
Tampa Bay Lightning
38-16-4

Sabres beat the Lightning 6-2 for their 3rd straight victory

Buffalo Sabres vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game Highlights

Zach Metsa had a goal and an assist, Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves to help Buffalo move within four points of the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning.

The Sabres improved to 16-2-1 in their past 19 on the road, ending Tampa Bay’s 10-game home winning streak.

Dominic James and Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay. The Lightning have lost consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 15-18.

Andrei Vasilevksiy, who was 17-0-1 in his previous starts, was pulled after allowing five goals on 14 shots in his first regulation loss since Dec. 18. Jonas Johansson came on in relief and stopped 20 shots.

Buffalo scored twice in a span of 50 seconds in the first period, both off the rush with Dahlin picking up his 12th of the season at 5:25 and Norris his first of the night at 6:15. Norris scored again on a deflection at 8:18, and Thompson made it 4-0 with 4:54 left in the first period.

Metsa scored 1:54 into the second period to end the night for Vasilevksiy, which marked the first time he has been pulled Oct. 21, 2024, at Toronto.

Up next Sabres: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.

Lightning: At Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 5:25 Rasmus Dahlin Goal (12) Wrist Shot, assists: Owen Power (14)
Goal 1st Period 6:15 Josh Norris Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Josh Doan (22), Zach Metsa (2)
Goal 1st Period 8:18 Josh Norris Goal (8) Tip-In, assists: Bowen Byram (21), Zach Benson (20)
Goal 1st Period 15:06 Tage Thompson Goal (32) Wrist Shot, assists: Peyton Krebs (20), Rasmus Dahlin (38)
Goal 2nd Period 1:54 Zach Metsa Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 16:03 Dominic James Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Oliver Bjorkstrand (18), Victor Hedman (14)
Goal 3rd Period 3:43 Alex Tuch Goal (24) Wrist Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (39), Jack Quinn (26)
Goal 3rd Period 5:27 Victor Hedman Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Darren Raddysh (37)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
14 Blocked Shots 5
16 Hits 28
2 Takeaways 6
35 Shots 38
1 Power Play Goals 0
5 Power Play Opportunities 3
20.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
31 Faceoffs Won 33
48.4 Faceoff Win Percent 51.6
16 Giveaways 11
6 Total Penalties 10
12 Penalty Minutes 28
Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Brandon Hagel, LW Day-To-Day Apr 14
Darren Raddysh, D Day-To-Day Apr 14
Jonas Johansson, G Day-To-Day Apr 14
Pontus Holmberg, RW Out Apr 8
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noah Ostlund, C Out Apr 11
Sam Carrick, C Out Apr 9
Alex Lyon, G Out Apr 9

Game Information

Benchmark International Arena

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 50 23 108 8
Tampa Bay 50 25 106 6
Montreal 48 24 106 10
Boston 45 27 100 10
Ottawa 43 27 97 11
Detroit 41 30 92 10
Florida 39 38 82 4
Toronto 32 35 78 14
Full Standings