Buffalo held on to a one-goal lead to tie Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Buffalo Sabres entered their most anticipated regular season game of the season with consecutive regulation losses against Ottawa and Washington, and losers of five of their last seven games, but against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Sabres held onto a slim one-goal lead thanks to goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made nine third-period saves in a 4-2 victory on Monday night.
“This was a big game for us. This was a big test for us tonight, because we knew how big this game was,” Head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. “We knew it was against the team who was sitting there just ahead of us. We didn't play well in the previous two games, and good teams know how to have some pushback. And I thought our guys had great pushback.”
The Lightning entered the contest with a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division, but without center Anthony Cirelli, winger Brandon Hagel, and team captain Victor Hedman in the lineup. The contest was not as physical as the wild 8-7 victory last month, but was more of a playoff-style nip-and-tuck battle, with Tampa responding to goals from Alex Tuch and Josh Norris with tallies from Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel. Bowen Byram’s long shot tipped by Jason Zucker midway through the middle frame stood up as the game-winner, as the Sabres pulled into a first-place tie at 102 points and two points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the battle for home-ice advantage.
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Ruff with more comments after the game:
What were your thoughts on how the club kept Tampa in check all game?
I just thought we looked like the team that has been playing all year. We got a little out of sync in the Ottawa (and) Washington game. I spent a lot of time looking a lot of stuff this morning with the group and talking about how we need to play, and I thought the guys put in a great effort.
Thoughts on Alex Tuch’s performance?
It was like a rapid fire chances in the second period, where he could have had two or three great goals. I thought he skated incredible in the game; his penalty killing was really good. It was a big night for him. I thought our top players had a good night, (Josh) Norris had a good night, and Alex had a good night. (Tage Thompson) really skated well and competed. So it was a night we needed our top guys, and I thought they came through for us.
Thoughts on Luukkonen’s performance?
Not a ton of saves, (but was) sharp all night. He made some good saves. Made a great save on Corey Perry right there with about six minutes left in the third period. I thought both goaltenders made plenty of good saves. Didn't have a lot, but had to make good saves, and (Luukkonen) gave us a great effort…….He even tried for an empty net goal at the end, I said to him, 'helluva try'.
How important is home-ice advantage based on how raucous the crowd was tonight?
The energy in the building was incredible. I think you could sense tension, you could sense excitement. When the game got 2-2, it was like a real playoff atmosphere where the game could go either way. They're waiting for our response. The response when we scored was incredible. I saw a few clips before the game of some stuff where they have the (Brandon)Hagel thing, and people were punching the Hagel dummy on the way into the building. I just think that's part of it. Everybody's into it. I think our fans been waiting for this for a while.
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