The Buffalo Sabres were less than 30 seconds away from moving within three points of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division. Then disaster struck.
Darren Raddysh scored the late equalizer for Tampa and Jake Guentzel cherry-picked his way to an overtime winner for the Bolts on Tuesday night. It was a learning experience for the Sabres, which head coach Lindy Ruff pointed out after the 4-3 OT loss.
"I think everybody realizes that the Atlantic Division, it's extremely tough," Ruff told reporters. "It just seems like every game, every night now, is a tight game. We've just got to make sure, when we get the lead like that late, we can find a way to close it out."
Those close, late-game situations are still an area Buffalo can improve. On the Raddysh goal, all five Sabres were down below the faceoff dots, which gave Tampa's breakout defenseman an incredible amount of space to deliver the game-tying slap shot.
The Blue and Gold wouldn't have played that style of defense at any other point in the game. They completely lost their structure, started chasing the puck deep in the defensive zone and handed one of the league's best teams a lifeline to steal two points.
It's all part of the learning curve for a young Buffalo roster. It played 59 minutes of strong defense on the road in a hostile environment. The mindset shouldn't change just because the clock is winding down, and Ruff will surely hammer that point home.
That said, the Sabres still put together an impressive overall performance in a back-to-back situation after Monday night's win over the Florida Panthers. Coming away with three out of a possible four points against two division rivals is a rock-solid result.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, a top contender alongside Ruff in the Jack Adams Award conversation, praised Buffalo after the contest.
"That was probably an entertaining hockey game for most," Cooper said. "You know the coaches will pick it apart, but that was two, what I consider, really good teams that went at it, and it's probably fitting that it went to overtime."
The Sabres have done a great job this season of learning from their mistakes. Early on, they struggled with giving up opponent goals immediately after scoring themselves. That's become less of an issue as they've gone on a 21-4-2 run over the past 27 games.
Figuring out how to confidently defend one-goal leads in the final minutes, especially against Stanley Cup contenders from around the NHL, will be another step in the team's development.
For now, let's examine the newest edition of our Sabres player grades series as Buffalo returns home to prepare for its final game before the league's break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Mattias Samuelsson, Colten Ellis help Buffalo Sabres earn important point in Feb. 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Mattias Samuelsson | 9 |
Colten Ellis | 7.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 7 |
Tage Thompson | 6.5 |
Josh Doan | 6.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 6 |
Jack Quinn | 5.5 |
Konsta Helenius | 5.5 |
Alex Tuch | 5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 5 |
Tyson Kozak | 4.5 |
Isak Rosen | 4.5 |
Owen Power | 4 |
Bowen Byram | 3.5 |
Noah Ostlund | 3.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 3 |
Jason Zucker | 2.5 |
Zach Metsa | 1.5 |
Jacob Bryson | 1.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Mattias Samuelsson
Samuelsson scored two of the Sabres' goals on Tuesday night extending his already career-high total to 11, tying Rasmus Dahlin for the team lead among defenseman. He's also on pace for 50 points after tallying just 43 in 212 appearances across his first five NHL seasons.
Calling the 25-year-old blueliner a revelation may be an understatement at this point. He probably belongs in the Norris Trophy conversation given his combination of production and importance to Buffalo's success, though actually winning the award is extremely unlikely.
"Playing with a little confidence offensively, just trying to get involved where I can," Samuelsson said.
The Olympic break is probably coming at a perfect time for the Sabres' defense corps, though Dahlin will head to Italy to represent Sweden in the Winter Games. Buffalo's top four has been skating big minutes every night as Ruff deals with injuries and mediocre play among his other defenders.
As Dahlin chases a gold medal, Samuelsson, Owen Power and Bowen Byram should benefit from a couple weeks of rest before the stretch run of the regular season.
Sabres quick hits
- Tuesday's overtime loss is an example of the numbers not telling the entire story. Ellis played well between the pipes but the two late Tampa goals dropped him to 31 saves on 35 shots (.886 save percentage).
- After a terrific run from mid-December through mid-January, Byram has gone ice cold with just two points (both assists) over his past 12 games.
- Peyton Krebs was Buffalo's best player on Monday night and one of its worst on Tuesday. He saw Guentzel start to make a move down the ice in overtime and instead tried to stay in the offensive zone, leading to the game-winning breakaway for Tampa. He simply isn't a long-term solution on the top line.
- Michael Kesselring was a scratch for injury management, so he's another player who will benefit from the time off. Jacob Bryson and Zach Metsa continue to underwhelm, so defensive depth is an issue, especially if Conor Timmins remains sidelined.
- The Sabres (32-18-6) return home to the KeyBank Center to play their final game before the Olympic break on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET) against the Pittsburgh Penguins (28-15-12).