Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Sabres earned a hard-fought 3-2 shootout victory over the Lightning, Saturday night at KeyBank Center. Tage Thompson netted his 40th goal of the season in the win, while James Reimer earned his sixth straight win in net for Buffalo.
The Sabres and Lightning played a scoreless, tight first period. Buffalo held Tampa Bay to just two shots on goal the entire opening frame.
It was the Lightning getting on the board early in the second though as Brayden Point snapped home the game's opening goal from the faceoff dot just 1:36 into the second.
Just minutes later, Tage Thompson would net his 40th of the season to tie the game 1-1 on a nice steal and setup from Zach Benson.
Tampa Bay took back the lead later in the second as Gabe Goncalves scored to make it a 2-1 game.
The Sabres would tie the game early in the third on the power play, as Jason Zucker pounded home a rebound to make it 2-2 for his 20th goal of the season.
The game remained tied 2-2 through the end of regulation and we would head to overtime. The two teams traded many great scoring chances throughout overtime but neither team could net the game winner, as the game would need a shootout to decide it.
Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scored in the shootout, while James Reimer stopped both Lightning attempts to seal a 3-2 shootout victory over the Lightning.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
TB: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 4:47 - Tage Thompson (40) (Zach Benson)
TB: 1:35 - Brayden Point (39) (Nikita Kucherov), 13:01 - Gabe Goncalves (6) (Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde)
Third Period:
BUF: 5:06 - Jason Zucker (20)(PPG) (Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin)
TB: NONE
Shootout:
BUF: Jack Quinn, Alex Tuch
TB: NONE
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STATS OF THE GAME
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) James Reimer (BUF)
2.) Tage Thompson (BUF)
3.) Jason Zucker (BUF)
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What's next: The Sabres get right back at it Sunday evening at home as they welcome the Boston Bruins to KeyBank Center for a 6:00 p.m. ET faceoff. Catch all of the action on WGR Sports Radio 550 starting with the pregame at 5:00 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.