Buffalo falls short after a strong, and entertaining first half
Score: Sabres 5 | Lightning 6
Shots: BUF 33 | TB 26
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Rasmus Dahlin (11), Alex Tuch (24), Peyton Krebs (5th), Tage Thompson (31-PP), JJ Peterka (19)
Tampa Bay Lightning Goals: Nick Paul (19), Darren Raddysh (4), Jake Guentzel (30, 31, 32-PP), Oliver Bjorkstrad (17)
Plus-1: First Period Fun
Both teams came out with plenty of energy in the first twenty minutes and the period was far from boring as scoring began fast and furious. A hard shot from Nikita Kucherov early in the period hit Jacob Bryson in front of the net and the Sabres were able to keep the score even – if only for a little while. It took just three more minutes for the home team to strike first following a long pass through the neutral zone by Ryan McDonagh to Nick Paul. Connor Clifton helped the opposition with a deflection into Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s net, but the lead would not last long. Thanks to Buffalo’s ice time leader Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres’ first goal of the night was a beauty as it flew under the glove of Andrei Vasilevskiy. He has now earned five points in his last four road games against the Lightning.
Just seconds later, the score changed again with a shot from the point that bobbled right off of UPL into the net. The ping pong continued between these two teams with Alex Tuch’s goal. It came after faking a shot to linemate Jordan Greenway and snapping a wrister into the net to even up the score yet again, this time 2-2. With his goal tonight, Tuch has an impressive eight in his last nine games.
On the other end of the spectrum, Peyton Krebs had not scored since December 29th until tonight. Even his biggest critic can agree…this was a stunner following a textbook pass from Ryan McLeod:
Plus-2: Goals-a-Plenty
The second period began much like the first – with plenty of scoring opportunities and a few scoreboard changes. First, it was Jake Guentzel to tie it up, 3-3 (more on him later). Then, a scrum involving Erik Cernak and Dahlin helped Buffalo get on their first power play of the game, though it yielded no positive results with the man-advantage. However, a second power play allowed for Tage Thompson (who drew the tripping penalty) to score his 31st of the year.
The Sabres kept the momentum going with JJ Peterka’s goal, giving the visitors their first and only two-goal lead of the game. Kucherov’s turnover became Peterka’s steal and the winger’s wrister soared over the glove of Vasilevskiy. Peterka is now on a six-game point streak and has scored multiple points in three consecutive games.
The Sabres goals tonight are the most allowed by the Lightning goaltender since November 27th.
Minus-1: Jake Guentzel
Buffalo dominated the second period. That is, until Guentzel earned the remaining two goals needed for a hat trick. What made it sting even more was how quickly it escalated – during the final two minutes in the second period. The first came following some soft play by Bowen Byram along the boards in the Sabres’ zone. The second came with a slapshot past UPL’s left side giving Guentzel his second hat trick of the season and eradicating Buffalo’s final lead of the game.
Minus-2: Mystery of the Missing Players
Throughout the game, the Sabres lost two key forwards and a defenseman. Jack Quinn left early on due to an undisclosed illness and Jordan Greenway did not return to the ice after the second period. Jacob Bryson left later on during the third period. No reports were attached to Greenway or Bryson, though it may be related to Quinn’s absence.
Final Thoughts
The Sabres certainly looked like they had the formula to win tonight. They responded to Tampa Bay’s goals and showed some scrappiness, but seemed to run out of steam (and players) in the third period. Buffalo is now tied for third most losses in the NHL when leading by two or more goals – not a statistic you ever want as a team. Even with a two-man advantage in the final seconds of the game, they could not tie it back up. Sigh.
Three Stars:
1. Jake Guentzel (3G)
2. Oliver Bjorkstrand (GWG)
3. Rasmus Dahlin (1G, 1A)