Sabres-Lightning slugfest results in 102 penalty minutes, 15 goals and Buffalo comeback win

The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning entered their matchup connected Sunday arsenic 2 of the champion teams successful the NHL’s Eastern Conference and their conflict lived up to the hype.

The 2 teams scored a combined 15 goals and earned much than 100 punishment minutes arsenic brawls and scoring littered the ice. It was the Sabres that got the champion of the Lightning successful the end, winning the crippled 8-7.

Buffalo winger Josh Doan broke a necktie with 4:17 near successful the game, notching his 21st extremity of the season. The Sabres’ triumph was their seventh consecutive and pushed them 2 points up of the Lightning for the pb successful the Atlantic Division.

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Buffalo Sabres close helping Josh Doan (91) celebrates his extremity with halfway Josh Norris (9) during the 3rd play of an NHL hockey crippled against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, March 8, 2026, successful Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

"Obviously it’s exciting, but astatine the aforesaid time, I’ve been enactment successful an accidental to beryllium palmy present and assistance our squad win," Doan told reporters, via NHL.com. "… It’s a bully accomplishment, but we’ve got 18 oregon 19 games to spell and hopefully we tin support racking up immoderate wins."

Tampa Bay had a 6-4 pb successful the 3rd play erstwhile Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point scored. Even arsenic Sam Carrick chopped Buffalo’s shortage to 1 goal, Brandon Hagel enactment Tampa Bay backmost up 2 with astir 10 minutes near successful the game.

Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin chopped the pb to 1 and Jason Zucker tied the crippled with astir 5:30 near successful the game. Then, Doan scored connected assists from Zucker and Dahlin.

Tampa Bay Lightning near helping Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates his extremity during the 3rd play of an NHL hockey crippled against the Buffalo Sabres, Sunday, March 8, 2026, successful Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

"I deliberation the radical has got existent tight, and it showed tonight," Sabres caput manager Lindy Ruff said. "They answered each call, they were determination astatine each play. … Just however hard we worked to get backmost successful the game. There was nary quit. The tendency to decorativeness this happening the close way, I thought each feline was connected board."

The crippled featured respective brawls implicit the people of the game. Buffalo had 7 power-play opportunities and converted connected 4 of them. Tampa Bay had 2 and scored connected one.

The teams had a combined 102 punishment minutes.

Buffalo Sabres halfway Sam Carrick (10) and Tampa Bay Lightning close helping Scott Sabourin (46) combat during the archetypal play of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 8, 2026, successful Buffalo, New York. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

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Buffalo is 39-19-6 with 18 games near to play and Tampa Bay is 39-19-4 with 20 games near to play. The Sabres person 84 points and the Lightning person 82 points this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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