The Tampa Bay Lightning look to rediscover their hometown magic tonight. The Bolts saw a sparkling eight-game home win-streak come to an end earlier this month in ugly fashion with three straight losses last week. They then took the road where they swept a weekend in the New York area but then lost in Philadelphia Tuesday night. As the battle for a wildcard spot rages on, the Bolts hope to recapture their earlier season hometown magic as they face off against the Buffalo Sabres.
Power Play Magic
The two teams felt each other out for the first few minutes. The Bolts had some good looks but could not find the back of the net. Just before the eight-minute mark, they got a power play after Jordan Greenway hooked Nikita Kucherov to the ice. The Lightning were quick to capitalize as the great Nikita Kucherov sent a pass across to Brayden Point. Point took his time going in alone and ultimately, buried his shot behind Ukko-Pekka Luukonen to put the boys in blue up 1-0.
Dave Mishkin calls Brayden Point's power play goal pic.twitter.com/uwLIGzHo0W
— Bucs Rays Bolts (@BucsRaysBoltsYT) March 1, 2024
Sabres Answer Back
It took under three minutes for Buffalo to answer back. Sloppy work in their own end put the puck right on the stick of Alex Tuch. Tuch fired it straight into the back of the net for an unassisted goal (since Lightning players can’t get assists on opposing team’s goals).
That was it for the scoring in the first period. The teams headed off to their dressing rooms all knotted up at one.
A Bit of Chaffee Magic
The second period was relatively uneventful for over seventeen minutes. Mitchell Chaffee had looked good throughout the game and his hard work finally payed off. At 17:18, he tipped Erik Cernak’s shot from the point past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for his third goal of the season to put his team up 2-1.
🗣️@DaveMishkin “SCORREEE…I THINK THAT HIT OFF CHAFFEE!”
2nd period: @TBLightning 2 Sabres 1! Cernak and Cirelli assist. #BUFvsTBL
🎧: https://t.co/BVfdPZ2Udz
📻: @1025TheBone pic.twitter.com/RWfX9BhcCX— Lightning Audio Network (@BoltsRadio) March 1, 2024
Third Period Penalty Trouble
The Bolts have made things tough on themselves in recent games by taking third period penalties. With such a slim lead in this one, it would be important not to take unnecessary penalties. Easier said than done. At 10:21, Brayden Point took a penalty for high sticking. The Lightning were doing an excellent job on the kill. But it just takes one shot to make a power play successful. The Sabres got that shot from Tage Thompson. It bounced off of Vasilevskiy’s shoulder and into the back of the net. Tie game. Seconds later, the Bolts got a power play of their own. They could not get anything going. They gave up a couple of short-handed breakaways and were fortunate that the game stayed tied.
Moments later, the Lightning took yet another penalty as Hedman went to the box for hooking. This time, the Bolts did manage to kill it off.
To overtime we go with the game all tied up at 2.
No Overtime Magic for the Bolts
The penalties continued to plague the Lightning as Nikita Kucherov got called for hooking in the overtime (moments after the referees had ignored a very obvious too many men on the ice for Buffalo).
The Sabres made short work of the power play, scoring just a few seconds in.
Lightning are not able to find their hometown magic as they drop their fourth straight at Amalie.
Three Stars
1- Rasmus Dahlin- game winning goal in OT
2- Mitchell Chaffee- 1 goal
3- Tage Thompson- 3rd period goal to tie the game.
Up Next
The homestand continues as the Montreal Canadiens pay a visit to Amalie Arena on Saturday night for a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Game time is 7pm.
