TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning knew how dangerous the Sabres were going into Thursday night’s game, and they are sure of it now. Buffalo defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin scored a short-handed goal 1:41 into overtime to send Tampa Bay to a 6-5 loss at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay dropped to 36-17-4 but kept their home point streak alive at 16 games. The Sabres improved to 29-23-4 and 18-8-2 on the road.
“This is the best Sabres team, in my opinion, we faced or I’ve faced in quite some time,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before the game. “They’re a dynamic team. You give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. I mean, everything about them is trending in the right direction..”
