Buffalo Sabres (16-20-5) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (36-21-4)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | Amalie Arena | Tampa, FL
TV: ESPN
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 36-21-4 | 76 PTS
Division Ranking: 3rd in the Atlantic
Last Game: 6-2 win over Columbus
PP: 26.3% (7th) – (Sabres 16.8%, 27th)
PK: 81.1% (10th) (Sabres 76.9%, 19th)
What To Watch
1. The New (and Old) Comers
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois hasn’t wasted any time ahead of Friday’s trade deadline. Earlier this week, he made a splash in a three-team deal, acquiring forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde along with defenseman Kyle Aucoin and a 5th-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft. Bjorkstrand and Gourde are both projected to be in the lineup tonight against the Sabres.
Bjorkstrand had 37 points (16-21) in 61 games this season with the Seattle Kraken. He has 10 years of NHL experience between Columbus and Seattle and was a third-round draft pick of the Blue Jackets in 2013. Gourde returns to Tampa after spending the last four seasons with Seattle, having been picked up by the Kraken in the expansion draft. He had 17 points in 36 games this season and previously played for the Lightning from 2016-2021, where he won the Stanley Cup twice.
2. Lightning Strikes
The Lightning have been hot lately, winning nine of their last 10 games. A nine-game winning streak from February 4 – March 1 ended with a 2-1 loss to the Panthers, but the Lightning quickly rebounded with a 6-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Sabres have lost four straight since February 27, following a stretch that saw the team win six of seven games.
3. Zucker Remains Out
If you’ve had any thoughts that the Sabres may be putting Jason Zucker on the trade block, tuck those thoughts away for now. Zucker’s missed a few games lately (he hasn’t played since February 25) and was not on the ice for this morning’s skate as he continues to deal with an injury.
Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reported this morning that per head coach Lindy Ruff, the Sabres are trying some different forms of treatment for Zucker. Ruff called it a ‘frustrating situation’ for Zucker.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
J.J. Peterka – Jiri Kulich – Tage Thompson
Jordan Greenway – Dylan Cozens – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Sam Lafferty
Defense
Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin
Mattias Samuelsson – Owen Power
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (expected), James Reimer
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nick Paul
Gage Goncalves – Yanni Gourde – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mitchell Chaffee
Defense
Victor Hedman – J.J. Moser
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Darren Raddysh
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonas Johansson