Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner had a power-play goal and an assist apiece to lead the host Sabres to a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.
The Sabres earned points in three of four meetings (2-1-1) against their Atlantic Division foe in the season series, but they won for just the third time in the past 11 meetings (3-7-1) between the teams.
Vinnie Hinostroza, Tyson Jost and Jack Quinn netted goals while goaltender Eric Comrie (8-8-0) stopped 33 shots.
Following a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin handed out an assist.
Sabres forward Jordan Greenway, obtained near Friday’s trade deadline, did not play. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson skated in his 100th NHL game.
In the first of eight March road games, Tampa Bay got two markers from Alex Killorn and one from Brayden Point. Goalie Brian Elliott made 29 saves.
The Lightning suffered their fourth straight loss (0-3-1). They dropped to 2-4-3 in their past nine games and 8-4-0 in the first match of a back-to-back set.
Captain Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Point did not play in the third period.
Acquired Wednesday from the San Jose Sharks, left winger Michael Eyssimont debuted on the fourth line.
Looking to improve on a 5-4-3 mark in February, the Lightning were able to take a 1-0 lead on their second power play after Dahlin’s hooking infraction at 11:37.
Patient on the man advantage, the visitors worked the puck around to Kucherov, their leading point producer with 88, and the right winger fed Point for his 39th tally at 13:28 — the center’s seventh straight game with a goal.
But on its first power play after Nick Paul went off for holding, Buffalo evened it when Thompson — who notched his fifth career hat trick in the previous meeting in Tampa on Feb. 23 — ripped his 42nd goal from the left circle at 16:15.
At the end of a board battle behind Elliott in the second period, Hinostroza one-timed his second goal off a pass from Casey Mittelstadt at 5:35 for Buffalo’s first lead.
Jost backhanded in a tally, his sixth, at 12:30. Quinn made it 4-1 with his 12th marker with 14 seconds left in the frame.
In the first minute of the third, Skinner netted the team’s second power-play goal — his 26th — but Killorn answered with his first tally of the game at 2:55 to make it 5-2.
Killorn’s 17th goal of the season, a short-handed one, ended the scoring.
–Field Level Media
