Overview
- Buffalo struck three times in the first eight minutes, with Rasmus Dahlin opening the scoring and Josh Norris adding two before Tage Thompson made it 4-0 by the first intermission.
- Zach Metsa scored early in the second to prompt Andrei Vasilevskiy's exit after five goals on 14 shots, and Jonas Johansson steadied Tampa Bay in relief with 16 saves in the period.
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 36 saves on 38 shots as the Sabres notched a third straight post-break win and pushed their road point streak to nine games (8-0-1).
- Jake Guentzel was ejected for abuse of officials after a reviewed power-play goal was overturned for a distinct kicking motion, leaving the Lightning with nine available forwards.
- Gage Goncalves and Dominik James departed with apparent injuries, Tampa Bay's 10-game home winning run ended, and Nikita Kucherov's 12-game point streak stopped.