Lightning Light Up Buffalo's Crease in an 8-3 Romp
Buffalo had the puck far more often and fired far more at the net, and still got buried 8-3 at home by Tampa Bay. The score makes it look like a one-sided night. It wasn't. The difference was in the Sabres' crease.
The Sabres outshot the Lightning 31-22 and had 60 shot attempts to Tampa's 34. Yet the quality of chances was close to even: Buffalo's expected goals (how many goals its chances were worth) came to 3.4, Tampa's to 3.32. A game like that usually ends close.
It didn't because Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped just 9 of 14 shots before giving way. Colten Ellis then allowed 3 goals on 8 shots, on chances that were worth well under one goal. Combined, Buffalo's goalies gave up roughly four to five goals more than an average night would have.
At the other end, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves on 31 shots, and Tampa cashed in. Nikita Kucherov scored 3 goals with an assist, John Carlson had a goal and 4 assists, and Jake Guentzel added 4 helpers. Brandon Hagel, on a line with Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli, scored twice. Tampa even left one on the table when Ilya Mikheyev rang a post.
For Buffalo, now 8-6-3 and holding the last wild-card spot, the bounces and the saves simply went the other way.
