NHL

Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning

· National Hockey League
Final
5 - 6

Guentzel has hat trick, Bjorkstrand scores go-ahead goal and Lightning rally past Sabres 6-5

Jake Guentzel nets hat trick in 2nd period for the Lightning

Bjorkstrand scored on a wrist shot with 18:20 remaining, assisted by Nikita Kucherov and Yanni Gourde.

Guentzel scored all three of his goals in the second period and has 32 this season. Nicholas Paul and Darren Raddysh also scored for the Lightning.

Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs and John-Jason Peterka scored for the Sabres.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for the Lightning. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves for the Sabres.

Takeaways Sabres: Buffalo lost its fifth straight.

Lightning: Victor Hedman played only three shifts and less than three minutes before leaving 6:27 into the game with an apparent left leg injury.

Key moment Guentzel's third goal made it 5-5 late in the second — about a minute after he scored to get Tampa Bay within one. The hat trick was the ninth of his career, including the playoffs. With his second hat trick this season for the Lightning, Guentzel became the second in franchise history to have more than one in his first season with Tampa Bay. Wendel Clark had three in 1998-99.

Key stat Tampa Bay improved to 9-1-0 over its last 10 games.

Up next The Sabres continue their swing through Florida, visiting the Panthers on Saturday, while Tampa Bay hosts Boston.

Regular Season Series

TB leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 5:01 Nick Paul Goal (19) Backhand, assists: Ryan McDonagh (18), Brandon Hagel (39)
Goal 1st Period 5:17 Rasmus Dahlin Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (18), Zach Benson (11)
Goal 1st Period 5:53 Darren Raddysh Goal (4) Wrist Shot, assists: Zemgus Girgensons (4)
Goal 1st Period 8:20 Alex Tuch Goal (24) Snap Shot, assists: none
Goal 1st Period 17:09 Peyton Krebs Goal (5) Wrist Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (19), Zach Benson (12)
Goal 2nd Period 0:58 Jake Guentzel Goal (30) Snap Shot, assists: Erik Cernak (14), Nikita Kucherov (63)
Goal 2nd Period 9:35 Tage Thompson Goal (31) Wrist Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (40), JJ Peterka (32)
Goal 2nd Period 12:40 JJ Peterka Goal (19) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 17:43 Jake Guentzel Goal (31) Backhand, assists: Brayden Point (33), Nick Paul (16)
Goal 2nd Period 18:46 Jake Guentzel Goal (32) Slap Shot, assists: Brandon Hagel (40), Darren Raddysh (24)
Goal 3rd Period 1:40 Oliver Bjorkstrand Goal (17) Wrist Shot, assists: Yanni Gourde (12), Nikita Kucherov (64)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
10 Blocked Shots 12
23 Hits 19
6 Takeaways 1
33 Shots 26
1 Power Play Goals 1
4 Power Play Opportunities 3
25.0 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 36
45.5 Faceoff Win Percent 54.5
14 Giveaways 13
4 Total Penalties 5
8 Penalty Minutes 10
Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Luke Glendening, C Day-To-Day Apr 2
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jordan Greenway, LW Day-To-Day Apr 2
Tyson Kozak, C Day-To-Day Apr 1
Josh Norris, C Out Apr 1

Game Information

Amalie Arena

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 19,092 | Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 46 25 96 4
Tampa Bay 44 25 93 5
Florida 44 27 92 4
Ottawa 39 29 84 6
Montreal 35 30 79 9
Detroit 34 33 75 7
Buffalo 32 36 70 6
Boston 30 36 69 9
Full Standings