Tampa, Fla. (WGR 550) - In what was one of the more memorable finishes in recent memory, the Buffalo Sabres won a thrilling game in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena to keep pace with fellow Wild Card hopefuls in the Eastern Conference.
The home side opened the scoring just 2:19 into the affair when Lightning captain Steven Stamkos wired a shot up high past Eric Comrie. It was the forward's 26th goal of the season for Tampa Bay.
Nine-and-a-half minutes later in the first period, the Sabres evened the score at 1-1 thanks to a fortunate re-direct off the skate of alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons. The initial shot was taken by Rasmus Dahlin.
It was Girgensons' seventh goal of the 2022-23 season.
Things opened up in a big way in the second period. In a span of 3:49, the teams combined for four goals in quick succession.
The madness started with a penalty on Tampa Bay forward Nick Paul. He brought a crowd to center ice after a nasty hit from behind on Dahlin, who was without the puck by the benches. Paul was assessed a two-minute interference minor, and on the power play Tage Thompson made him pay.
Thompson wasn't done, though.
After netting his 37th goal of the season, he grabbed No. 38 less than three minutes later. The big center was sprung for a breakaway by Jeff Skinner and he made no mistake against Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Tampa Bay wasted no time creeping back into the rearview mirror, as 16 seconds later defenseman Victor Hedman netted his fifth of the campaign.
With the score now 3-2, Sabres, the blue and gold kept the high-octane period going with their third goal of the frame. This time, it was Jack Quinn with big help from Peyton Krebs and Casey Mittelstadt. Krebs was injured after the goal, embodying the phrase "taking a hit to make a play".
The third period was a continuous effort for the Sabres to bend, but not break. They did their best to stave off the Lightning in regulation, but another wild period resulted in the teams being tied 5-5 after 60 minutes of play.
Brayden Point applied the first amount of third period pressure with his 34th goal of the season to cut the Sabres lead to 4-3.
Then, like he's been all season, Thompson was there to pick up the team in a timely fashion, as he capped a hat-trick with a sick move on Vasilevskiy to make it 5-3, Buffalo.
Unfortunately that was the last answer to a Lightning response the Sabres would have in regulation, as Tampa Bay wore down the blue and gold and scratched and clawed their way to two more goals. An even strength goal from forward Anthony Cirelli and a game-tying power play goal from forward Ross Colton made it 5-5.
Appearing to make matters worse, a penalty was called on Henri Jokiharju with just eight seconds left in regulation for a delay of game, meaning the Sabres were carrying almost an entire penalty's worth of shorthanded minutes into overtime.
Sabres head coach Don Granato sent out Girgensons, Mattias Samuelsson and Ilya Lyubushkin to start the overtime penalty kill, and less than two minutes into the extra frame the unlikeliest of sources stepped up to the plate for the blue and gold.
Lyubushkin's shorthanded, game-winning overtime tally was just the fourth goal of any kind in his five-year career (253 games), and his first goal scored with the Sabres.
GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 11:41 - Zemgus Girgensons (7) (Rasmus Dahlin, Tyson Jost)
TBL: 2:19 - Steven Stamkos (26) (Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov)
Second Period:
BUF: 9:36 - Tage Thompson (37) PPG (Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Dahlin); 12:20 - Tage Thompson (38) (Jeff Skinner); 13:25 - Jack Quinn (10) (Peyton Krebs, Casey Mittelstadt)
TBL: 12:36 - Victor Hedman (5) (Unassisted)
Third Period:
BUF: 6:18 - Tage Thompson (39) (Unassisted)
TBL: 5:48 - Brayden Point (34) (Victor Hedman, Brandon Hagel); 8:33 - Anthony Cirelli (8) (Erik Cernak, Brayden Point); 14:54 - Ross Colton (13) PPG (Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point)
Overtime:
BUF: 1:41 - Ilya Lyubushkin (1) SHG (Unassisted)
TBL: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
TBL: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 6:26 - Mattias Samuelsson (Holding - 2 min.)
TBL: 0:24 - Brandon Hagel (Tripping - 2 min.); 8:51 - Nick Paul (Interference - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 13:45 - Team (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.); 19:52 - Henri Jokiharju (Delay of game, puck over glass - 2 min.)
TBL: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
TBL: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tage Thompson - BUF
2.) Brayden Point - TBL
3.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
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What's next:
The Florida tour for the blue and gold continues in Sunrise on Friday, as the Sabres and Panthers square off at FLA Live Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EST with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on the flagship home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
