Sabres wrap: Lightning strike back to beat Buffalo behind Guentzel hat trick
The Sabres led, 5-3, late in the second period, and it was the seventh time this year Buffalo has lost a game it led by at least two goals. Four of those losses have come in regulation.
A national television audience on ESPN saw the Full Sabre Experience Thursday night.
The Buffalo Sabres can score. They can't defend much. They don't get nearly enough saves. They're not real adept at protecting teammates in scrums either.
And for good measure, they turned back the clock to earlier in the season and blew a two-goal lead.
Jake Guentzel had a second-period hat trick and newly acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the tiebreaking goal at 1:40 of the third period as the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied past Buffalo, 6-5, in Amalie Arena.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (26) looks for a pass in the second period of their NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Joed Viera/Buffalo News
The Lightning (37-21-4) overcame a 5-3 deficit late in the second period and improved to 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. The Sabres (24-31-6) are 0-4-1 in their last five.
It was the seventh time this year Buffalo has lost a game it led by at least two goals. Four of those losses have come in regulation.
The worst players on the ice were probably the two goalies, who were both beaten for five goals on 20 shots apiece through the first two periods. Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy – who had only given up five goals over his last four games – and Buffalo's Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen both appeared to be fighting the puck. Luukkonen was freely kicking out rebounds while Vasilevskiy was repeatedly beaten clean by Buffalo shooters.
Guentzel scored three goals for Tampa Bay in the second period, getting the Lightning even with two in a 63-second span late in the period. That came after Buffalo took a 5-3 lead on JJ Peterka's unassisted goal at 12:40 of the period, a straight steal from Nikita Kucherov that was followed by a snapshot that beat Vasilevskiy high glove.
Guentzel's tying goal, a one-timer from the right circle, was on a power play at 18:46. It came 36 seconds after Dahlin earned a double minor for his role in a big scrum at the Tampa Bay net that saw the Buffalo captain take and give punches from several Tampa Bay players.
Brandon Hagel got in several shots on Dahlin, with Cozens and Mattias Samuelsson not able to corral him away from the Buffalo captain as Dahlin was also flailing at Anthony Cirelli. Dahlin got an extra penalty for pushing Cirelli's helmet off but Hagel was not penalized at all.
The game ended with the Sabres holding a 6-on-3 advantage after Hagel went off for tripping with 1:54 left and Ryan McDonagh was nailed for high sticking with 17 seconds to go. The Sabres felt they lost about 10 seconds after McDonagh took his penalty and the Lightning touched the puck in their defensive corner but no whistle was blown.
Ryan McLeod won the offensive zone draw but shots by Dahlin and Thompson were both blocked, with Tampa defenseman Erik Cernak diving to swallow Thompson's desperation one-timer from the left side just before the buzzer.
It was a wild game that saw the Sabres battle back to tie it twice in the first period on goals by Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch, and then take a 3-2 lead into the locker room on Peyton Krebs' goal at 17:20, his first in the last 23 games.
Guentzel made it 3-3 at 58 seconds, getting behind Owen Power in front to put the puck under the crossbar, but Buffalo regained its lead on Tage Thompson's power play goal at 9:35, a quick wrist shot inside the post for his 31st goal of the season.
Who was in?
The most notable item on the Sabres' lineup was a flip among the top defense pairs. Dahlin and Bowen Byram were split up, as Dahlin was paired with Mattias Samuelsson and Byram went with Owen Power.Who was out?
Henri Jokiharju and Dennis Gilbert were scratches on defense, with the expectation continuing that Jokiharju will be traded on Friday. Winger Jack Quinn left the game after one period due to illness and Jordan Greenway left after the second period because he was sick as well.Jason Zucker missed his fifth straight game with the leg injury he suffered against the New York Rangers on Feb. 25. Even though the pending UFA could be traded Friday, Zucker wasn't held out on roster management. He's not even on the trip.
"It's still an injury," said coach Lindy Ruff. "We're trying a little different type of treatment to try to progress this thing, and we're hoping that'll lead to getting him back on the ice. We're all a little bit frustrated with how long a time this has taken."
Up next
The Sabres make their first trip of the season to Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday night for a 6 p.m. game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. The teams split two games in October in KeyBank Center.The next home game for Buffalo is Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers.
