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The Buffalo Sabers and Tampa Bay Lightning entered their matchup Sunday as two of the top teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and their matchup lived up to the hype.
The two teams combined for 15 goals and more than 100 penalty minutes as fights and scoring filled the ice. It was the Sabers who got the better of the Lightning in the end, winning the game 8-7.
Buffalo winger Josh Doan broke a tie with 4:17 left in the game and scored his 21st goal of the season. The Sabres’ win was their seventh in a row and pushed them two points ahead of the Lightning for the lead in the Atlantic Division.
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Buffalo Sabers right wing Josh Doan (91) celebrates his goal with center Josh Norris (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
“Obviously it’s exciting, but at the same time, I’ve been given an opportunity to be successful here and help our team win,” Doan told reporters, via NHL.com. “… It’s a nice performance but we’ve got 18 or 19 games left and hopefully we can keep picking up some wins.”
Tampa Bay had a 6-4 lead in the third period when Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored. Although Sam Carrick cut Buffalo’s deficit to one goal, Brandon Hagel put Tampa Bay back up by two with about 10 minutes left in the game.
Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin cut the lead to one and Jason Zucker tied the game with about 5:30 left in the game. Then Doan scored on assists from Zucker and Dahlin.
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabers, Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
“I think the group has become really tight and it showed tonight,” Sabers head coach Lindy Ruff said. “They answered every call, they were there on every play. … How hard we worked to get back in the game. There was no let up. The desire to finish this thing the right way, I thought every guy was on board.”
The game featured numerous brawls throughout the game. Buffalo had seven power-play opportunities and converted on four of them. Tampa Bay had two and scored on one.
The teams had a combined 102 penalty minutes.
Buffalo Sabers center Sam Carrick (10) and Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Scott Sabourin (46) battle during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
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Buffalo is 39-19-6 with 18 games to play and Tampa Bay is 39-19-4 with 20 games to play. The Sabers have 84 points and the Lightning have 82 points this season.
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