Throughout the 2017-18 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have achieved a number of milestones. They have topped franchise records for wins, points, goals scored, road wins, home goals, road goals, etc. While the accolades have been impressive, this is a team still in a fight down to the final days of the season for first place in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
On Friday night, the Buffalo Sabres arrived at Amalie Arena looking to play spoiler on Fan Appreciation Night. While Buffalo has made a habit of knocking off powerhouse teams like the Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Nashville Predators recently, the Lightning couldn’t avoid falling into that trap again. Thanks to a third-period comeback and a pair of Bolts reaching individual milestones, Tampa Bay was able to maintain control of their own destiny for the top spot in the conference. However, it was a stark reminder for the Lightning that even the last-place team in the league can cause problems if you take them lightly.
Tampa Bay (54-23-4, 112 points) blew a 4-2 second period lead and fell behind 5-4, only to recover and rally for a 7-5 victory over the Sabres (25-45-12) on home ice. With the win, the Bolts took over sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. All they need to do is win on Saturday night in the regular season finale in Carolina in either regulation or overtime, and they’ll clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The second-place Bruins have two games remaining.
In a wild, back-and-forth affair, Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde set the tone early on.
Gourde assisted on Anthony Cirelli’s first goal of the contest just 30 seconds in, as the line of Gourde, Cirelli, and Alex Killorn proved to be unstoppable on this night. However, it became obvious that this was going to be one of those high-flying Lightning games we’ve grown accustomed to over the last couple of months.
Just 2:27 after Cirelli’s fourth of the year, highly-touted Sabres rookie Casey Mittelstadt wired a shot past Bolts goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on a power play, tying the game 1-1 on his first career goal. Fortunately for the Lightning, Kucherov fired a shot past Buffalo goalie Chad Johnson for his 39th of the season to give the Bolts the edge less than two minutes later. Unfortunately for the Lightning, the Sabres refused to go away, as Alex Nylander also potted the first goal of his NHL career to make it 2-2.
Meanwhile, the Cirelli-Gourde-Killorn line couldn’t be stopped, and their ferocious forecheck paid off at the 9:40 mark of the opening period:
HISTORY. MADE.#OHMYGOURDE. ???? pic.twitter.com/l54c8rTA9d
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 7, 2018
Not only did Gourde snap a 13-game goalless drought that dated back exactly one month, he notched his 25th goal and 63rd point of the season. Why is that important? He broke both the franchise record for most goals and most points by a rookie, marks held by Tyler Johnson (24 goals in 2013-14) and Brad Richards (62 points in 2000-01).
While Gourde was making Bolts history, Kucherov etched his name in Lightning lore as well.
The Lightning held a 3-2 lead at the first intermission that extended to 4-2 early in the second thanks to a goal by Dan Girardi. Kucherov provided the primary assist, giving him 100 points this season. He became just the third Lightning player to hit 100 points, as Vinny Lecavalier (108) and Marty St. Louis (102) hit the century mark in 2006-07. He’s also the second player in the league notch 100 points, as Edmonton’s Connor McDavid leads the league with 106. Kucherov also joined some impressive company among some of the all-time great Russian-born players to suit up in the NHL.
Russian-born players with 100-point seasons, NHL history:
Alex Ovechkin (4x)
Evgeni Malkin (3x)
Alexander Mogilny (2x)
Pavel Bure (2x)
Sergei Federov (2x)@86Kucherov #NHLStats #BUFvsTBL pic.twitter.com/ZYhelQeGgT— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 7, 2018
With a 4-2 lead to their name in the second period, the Bolts had a chance to put this game out of reach.
At the 4:24 mark, Buffalo’s Marco Scandella went to the penalty box after being handed a double minor for roughing. During the ensuing four-minute power play, the Lightning did little to muster any real scoring chances. In fact, the best chance for either team came when Jack Eichel danced around Mikhail Sergachev and cut in alone on Vasilevskiy. However, Vasilevskiy stuck out his left pad and made the save, preserving the two-goal lead.
That penalty kill was all the Sabres needed to come roaring back in this game. They outshot the Lightning 16-5 in the second period and scored three straight goals, including another one on the power play by Kyle Okposo that put them up 5-4 going into the third period. The Lightning didn’t look like they were taking the Sabres seriously enough, a far cry from Tuesday’s dominant showing against Boston.
In the final period, Tampa Bay shifted momentum back in their favor, generating more shots and controlling play.
They held a 16-7 edge in shots over the final 20 minutes, and Cirelli came to the rescue at the 6:15 mark, deflecting a shot by Killorn into the back of the Buffalo net, tying the game 5-5. Only 47 seconds later, Brayden Point notched the game winner when his shot found it’s way past Johnson, putting the Lightning up 6-5. There were some tense moments late in the game as Buffalo pulled Johnson for an extra skater, pressing for the game-tying goal. However, Victor Hedman lifted a shot from his own goal line all the way down the ice, with the puck skidding and sliding along before it hit the post and rolled into the empty net for the final goal.
The Lightning will play their regular season finale on Saturday night when they head to Raleigh for a contest with the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drops at 7 pm.
Game Notes
-The Lightning broke the franchise record for most goals at home in a season, as they now have 145 at Amalie Arena, besting the previous mark of 139 set in 2014-15.
-Tonight’s high-scoring affair marked an unusual position the Lightning hold among NHL teams this season:
This is @TBLightning ‘s fifth game this season in which each team scored at least five goals. No other NHL team has played more than three such games this season.
— Bob Waterman (@esbbob) April 7, 2018
-Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander became the first pair of Sabres to score their first career NHL goals in the same game since Curtis Brown and Wayne Primeau accomplished the feat on May 3, 1995 against New Jersey.
-The Lightning finished up the season series 2-1-1 against Buffalo. They are 7-1-1 in their last 9 home games against the Sabres. In their last 21 meetings, Tampa Bay has a record of 16-3-2.
Our Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Yanni Gourde – Scored a goal and two assists, setting the team record for most goals and points in a season by a rookie.
2nd Star: Anthony Cirelli – Notched a pair of goals, including the game-tying goal in the third period.
3rd Star: Alex Killorn – Finished the night with three assists and led the team with five shots on goal.
