BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scored shootout goals, and the Buffalo Sabres rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits in a 3-2 win over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
Despite the loss, the Lightning clinched their eighth straight playoff berth following the New York Rangers' 4-0 loss to New Jersey earlier in the day.
Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker scored for Buffalo, which has won six of seven and five straight at home. James Reimer stopped 22 shots through overtime and both shootout attempts to win his career-best matching sixth straight start.
Brayden Point and rookie Gage Goncalves scored for the Lightning and Jonas Johansson stopped 36 shots, and one of three shootout attempts.
Sitting second in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning moved two points ahead of third-place Florida, but fell four back of the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs.
Takeaways
Lightning: Started slowly in failing to register their first shot on net until 14:12 in, and were outshot 9-2 in the first period. Ended slowly, combining for nine shots over the final 25 minutes.
Sabres: Thompson’s goal was his 40th, making him Buffalo’s first player with multiple 40-goal seasons since Thomas Vanek in 2006-07 and 2008-09, and ninth overall. Rick Martin tops the list with five 40-goal seasons.
Key moment
Zucker tied the game at 2 with a power-play goal 5:07 into the third. Rasmus Dahlin’s initial shot was blocked and the puck dribbled to Zucker, who swept it in under Johansson’s pad.
Key stat
Tampa Bay dropped to 32-8-5 when scoring first and 35-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Up Next
The Lightning complete a four-game road swing at the New York Rangers on Monday night, while Buffalo hosts Boston on Sunday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
John Wawrow, The Associated Press
