The Tampa Bay Lightning pull out a 7-5 to take over 1st place in the Atlantic.
By Corey Long / NHL.com Correspondent
TAMPA, FL. — The Tampa Bay Lightning added to their lead in the Atlantic Division by scoring three third-period goals for a 7-5 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Amalie Arena on Friday.
Tampa Bay (54-23-4) leads the Boston Bruins by two points and can win the division with a regulation or overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored his 39th goal and had an assist to reach 100 points for the first time.
Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander each scored his first NHL goal for the Sabres (25-44-12), who are 2-8-0 in their past 10 games.
Anthony Cirelli tied the game 5-5 at 6:15 of the third period off a tip from a shot by Alex Killorn. Brayden Point made it 6-5 at 7:02 with a one-timer that deflected off the shoulder of Sabres defenseman Brendan Guhle. Victor Hedman scored an empty-net goal at 18:34 for the 7-5 final.
Cirelli scored 30 seconds into the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Mittelstadt scored on a power play at 2:57 to tie it 1-1.
Kucherov made it 2-1 with an unassisted goal at 4:35, before Nylander tied it 2-2 at 6:32. Yanni Gourde set a Lightning rookie record with his 25th goal at 9:40 for a 3-2 lead.
Dan Girardi scored off on a one-timer at 1:04 of the second period to make it 4-2. Jason Pominville made it 4-3 at 8:59, Jordan Nolan tied it 4-4 at 15:58, and Kyle Okposo scored a power-play goal at 18:45 to make it 5-4.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for his NHL-leading 44th win.
Up next
The Sabres close out their season on Saturday night with a game against the Florida Panthers in Sun Rise, FL. The Panthers need a victory to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.