Lightning end skid with win over Sabres
TAMPA, Fla. -- The return of goalie Ben Bishop sparked the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres, snapping their four-game losing streak on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay (20-19-4) got two goals from Ondrej Palat, rallying from an early deficit to cool off the Sabres (16-16-9), who were 3-0-1 in their last four. Bishop stopped 24 shots in his first action in three weeks after missing nine games with a lower-body injury. Tampa Bay put the game away with an empty-net goal from defenseman Anton Stralman -- his second this season -- with 18 seconds left.
Buffalo trailed 3-1 in the third but got within a goal with 9:30 left on Evander Kane's 11th goal of the season, shooting a rebound past Bishop. The Lightning had two scoring chances while short-handed, but Palat missed two chances at a hat trick, missing on a 2-on-1 and then on a breakaway within the same penalty kill.
A fight with 4:33 left in the game gave the Lightning a power play -- the Sabres' Brian Gionta was called for two minutes for roughing and Buffalo's Marcus Foligno and Tampa Bay's Cedric Paquette each five minutes for fighting. Buffalo killed off that penalty, but with 2:17, another power play came for Tampa Bay when Kane was called for high-sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct. Buffalo didn't get a shot in the final 4:33 as a result of their extended short-handed play.
Both teams have back-to-back games ahead, with Buffalo traveling to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night and the Lightning staying home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Lightning, who came in having lost four straight and having given up 22 goals in those four losses, got a spark from the return of goalie Ben Bishop, who had missed nine games with a lower-body injury.
Bishop only faced one shot in the first 10 minutes, but Buffalo scored on it, as Matt Moulson scored his ninth goal of the season just 2:58 into the game for a 1-0 lead.
The Lightning got back on a 5-for-3 power play, with Buffalo taking two penalties 77 seconds apart -- Tampa Bay came in with the NHL's No. 2 power play, facing the league's worst penalty-kill unit in Buffalo. Ondrej Palat converted the 5-on-3 with a goal with 14:23 left in the first on an assist from Tyler Johnson, tying the game and shifting momentum back to the Lightning.
Tampa Bay dominated the second period, scoring two goals on eight shots against Buffalo goalie Anders Nilsson. Palat scored his second goal of the game -- and ninth of the season -- on a rebound from a Nikita Nesterov shot for a 2-1 lead. With 7:02 left in the second, Tampa Bay extended its lead to 3-1 when Nikita Kucherov scored his 17th goal of the season on an assist from defenseman Victor Hedman. Bishop stopped 14 shots in the first two periods after giving up the early goal.
NOTES: The Lightning got the long-awaited return of G Ben Bishop, who missed nine games with a lower-body injury suffered Dec. 20. Andrei Vasilevskiy had stepped in well at first, going 3-1-1 in his first five after the injury, but lost the next four as Tampa Bay gave up 22 goals in those losses. ... Former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, who will become the first Tampa Bay player to have his jersey retired Friday night, drew big cheers as the guest for the ceremonial puck drop before the game. ... Tampa Bay played without RW Ryan Callahan, who missed a second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... C Gabriel Dumont, who played in 18 games over four seasons with Montreal, made his Tampa Bay debut after being called up from AHL Syracuse. ... D Luke Witkowski was a healthy scratch. ... The Sabres played without G Robin Lehner, who is battling illness, and D Josh Gorges, who missed a third straight game with a hip injury.