The Tampa Bay Lightning (12-4-2) defeated the Buffalo Sabres (8-7-3) 8-3 on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
The Lightning scored the first four goals of the game to build a 4-0 lead midway through the second period. The Sabres scored the next three goals to pull within 4-3 early in the third period, before the Lightning came to life in the third. Nikita Kucherov had a natural hat trick to turn the 4-3 lead into a 7-3 lead, before Brandon Hagel scored late to make it 8-3, which would prove to be the final score - it was Hagel's second goal of the game.
The Lightning also got goals from Scott Sabourin, Yanni Gourde and John Carlson in the win. For Carlson, he added four assists for a five-point game. Andrei Vasilevskiy saved 28 of the 31 shots he faced in net to get the win.
The Lightning are next in action on Thursday night when they travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets in the second game of a back-to-back. Puck drop from Columbus is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Thursday night.
COVER PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES