The Buffalo Sabres had a chance to build on last season’s success against Tampa Bay, but Wednesday night turned into a rough reminder of how quickly a game can slip away. The Lightning rolled to an 8-3 win, denying Buffalo the kind of result that would have matched the seven of eight points the Sabres took from this division opponent a year ago.
Buffalo actually came out with energy. The Sabres generated chances early and put five shots on goal in the first three minutes.
But that fast start didn’t last. Tampa Bay settled in, took control of the opening period and turned a promising beginning into a 2-0 lead before the first intermission.
Scott Sabourin opened the scoring on a rebound, and the Lightning quickly doubled up after Josh Doan was whistled for a delay of game penalty for chipping the puck over the ice. Tampa Bay needed only about 20 seconds on the power play to cash in.
The second period brought a little life from Buffalo, and Doan was part of it. After his mistake in the first, he answered with his first power-play goal of the season. Ryan McLeod fed him a perfect pass in front of the crease, and Doan simply had to keep his stick down and redirect it past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
That goal came with the Sabres already down 4-0, but it sparked a burst that briefly made things interesting. Buffalo scored three times in less than five minutes of ice time, starting with Jason Zucker’s cross-ice feed to Noah Ostlund at the far post with about 30 seconds left in the second period. Then Tage Thompson struck less than 30 seconds into the third to pull the Sabres within one.
For a moment, it looked like Buffalo might have a real chance to flip the game. Instead, Nikita Kucherov shut the door on that idea almost immediately.
Less than a minute after Thompson’s goal, the reigning Hart Trophy winner scored on a backhand shot to restore Tampa Bay’s two-goal cushion. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen needed to make that stop, and he let it slip under his arm.
Lindy Ruff responded by pulling Luukkonen and going to Colten Ellis. Luukkonen ended the night with five goals allowed on 14 shots. It was his 12th start of the season, and he has now given up four or more goals in six of them.
Kucherov wasn’t done. He scored three straight to push the Lightning ahead 7-3, and Brandon Hagel added the final goal to make it 8-3.
The loss drops Buffalo to 8-7-3. It also closes out a four-game homestand in which the Sabres lost three times. Their next stretch starts Thursday night on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks.
In Other News...
Sabres Suddenly Face A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Loss
The Sabres latest stumble against Tampa Bay did more than add another loss to the ledger. It sharpened the questions already hanging over a team that has been trying to find some consistency, with Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson both pointing to the need for sharper play across the board. When a game ends with the kind of defensive breakdowns, shaky goaltending and special-teams issues Buffalo has been dealing with, it becomes less about one bad night and more about a pattern the club has to confront.
Thompson still gave Buffalo something to build on with his offensive work, and he remains on pace for a strong scoring season. But the bigger concern for the Sabres is whether that production can matter if the rest of the lineup keeps leaving them exposed. The grades from the game reflected that imbalance, and for a team trying to climb out of its own way, the margin for these kinds of losses is getting thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Have A Tough Choice If Penguins Start Selling
If the Penguins decide to move veterans, Buffalo could have real reason to pay attention. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell both fit the kind of forward help the Sabres have been looking for, and either one would bring a different layer to a group that could use more proven scoring and playoff experience. Rust has long been valued for his all-around game, while Rakell has remained a name to watch in trade chatter because of what he can still provide offensively.
The fit is easy to see from Buffalos side, but the timing is complicated by what Pittsburgh does next. Rusts injury situation and Rakells recent surge only add to the intrigue, because the Penguins may not be in a hurry to make anything simple. For the Sabres, the question is whether they can strike if the market opens, and whether the price for that kind of upgrade becomes worth paying. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Let This One Slip Away After Brief Third-Period Hope
Buffalo had a brief jolt of life in the third period at KeyBank Center, enough to make it feel for a moment like the Sabres might have a path back into a game that had tilted heavily toward Tampa Bay. Josh Doan, Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson each found the net for Buffalo, while Colten Ellis was left to absorb a heavy workload in a night that quickly became about chasing the puck and trying to slow down a Lightning attack that kept finding answers.
The trouble was Tampa Bay kept stacking them up, with John Carlson driving the offense and Andrei Vasilevskiy steadying things behind him. Nikita Kucherov was the headliner, and his night only grew more decisive as the third period unfolded, turning Buffalos flicker of hope into another reminder of how quickly a game can slip away when a contender starts rolling. [Read more 🡒]