Despite clinching a playoff berth over the weekend, the Buffalo Sabres’ play has dropped off a bit as of late. Heading into Monday night’s game, Buffalo had only won two of their previous seven contests, and their chances of winning the Atlantic Division were slipping away. Losing their last two games by a combined score of 10-3, the team desperately needed to get back into the win column.
The Sabres' long-awaited rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning
In need of a win, it wasn’t going to come against a bottom feeder, or an ‘easy’ opponent. Next on the schedule was a game circled on many fans' calendars for weeks now. The long-awaited rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning, following their previous meeting in which Buffalo won an 8-7 barnburner that had no shortage of excitement.
In addition, there were massive playoff implications as the Sabres trailed the Lightning by only two points for the division lead.
A key game at the KeyBank Center at long last. The crowd was packed, "Beer Sabres" were filled, and the anticipation was through the roof. This game had all the feelings of a playoff matchup.
Buffalo's key contributors in win vs. Tampa Bay were a welcome sight
Six minutes into the game, Alex Tuch opened the scoring shortly after exiting the penalty box with a snipe below the blocker of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tuch had been sitting on 29 goals for six games, before finally hitting the 30-goal mark for the third time in his career (all with Buffalo). With only one goal and four points in the previous 10 games, the Syracuse-born winger needed to get back on the scoresheet. He was aggressive, registering six shots on goal throughout the game. A hungry Alex Tuch is a scary Alex Tuch for opponents.
Just over two minutes after Nikita Kucherov potted the equalizer on the power play, the Sabres were pushing to score again. Josh Doan entered the zone and patiently assessed his options, with Zach Benson crashing the net, and Josh Norris as the high man. Norris received a pass and wasted no time firing it into the back of the net, restoring the lead. Norris’ goal was his first in 11 games and Doan’s assist was his first point in the last seven contests.
The Lightning tied the game early in the second period, but once again Buffalo pushed back and responded. Four minutes later a Bowen Byram shot from the point was beautifully tipped in front by Jason Zucker. The veteran forward finished the game with a goal and an assist, totaling three goals and two assists in the last two games against Tampa Bay.
It’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's net now, no question
UPL was in net for all seven Lightning goals in the previous meeting, but since that game he has only allowed more than two goals twice. His play has been the one constant through this down stretch, and in the win he was just as good. Making 23 saves on 25 shots, with the cherry on top being an assist on the Quinn empty-netter that put the game away.
He even made an attempt at the empty net himself which would have blown the roof off of KeyBank Center had it been successful.
Something about the Lightning seems to bring the best out of the Sabres, and they responded perfectly to their loss in Washington with a 4-2 win at home over Tampa Bay. With only four games left in the regular season, Buffalo needed a confidence booster like last night to get back on the right track heading into the postseason.
Buffalo doesn’t have any more games against Atlantic Division opponents to close out the year. So there will be lots of out-of-town scoreboard watching as they still hope to win the division crown, a race that's now tied in points heading into the final games of the campaign.
In the big picture, the Sabres' showing against the Lightning proved they're back trending in the right direction as the playoffs nears.