4
0
Playing the Buffalo Sabres: good for what ails ya.
BUF-0
TB-5
Brian Elliott stopped all 28 shots he faced for the victory. That’s Elliott’s fourth shutout victory over Buffalo over the past two seasons. I’d say he owns the Sabres, but why would I wish that on the guy?
First Period
9:21 TB Perry (17), (Bogosian)
9:36 TB Palat (16), (Point)
Second Period
1:12 TB Hagel (24), (Cirelli, Hedman)
4:28 TB Kucherov (15), (McDonagh, Palat)
Third Period
2:09 TB Colton (16), (Stamkos, Paul)
Eliott, Ondrej Palat, and Ryan McDonagh were the game’s three stars.
Seriously, how dreadful is Buffalo? That has to be one of the slowest, least athletic teams the NHL has seen in decades. So, I’m not going to pronounce this win as evidence of the Lightning’s big turnaround. But, psychologically, Perry and Palat got out of their personal slumps and every line scored a goal. So, certainly, this can’t hurt having some good feelings again regardless of the level of competition.
The Lightning now are just a couple of points from clinching a playoff berth, either earned by the team or lost by the Islanders.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
