Apr 6, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing Jason Zucker (17) watches as Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save during the second period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Lightning started their four-game road trip through the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Goals from Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel weren’t enough as Alex Tuch, Josh Norris, Jason Zucker, and Jack Quinn (empty net) provided the offense for the home team. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25-of-28 shots to keep the game close while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen picked up the victory with 23 saves.

It might not have been the conga line to the penalty box their last meeting was, but the two teams did combine for 26 penalty minutes and 9 power plays with the Lightning converting on one of their five chances while Buffalo failed to convert on their four opportunities. There were just enough infractions to interrupt the flow of the game for both teams.

With the victory, Buffalo moves back into a virtual tie with Tampa Bay at the top of the Atlantic Division, although the Lightning still hold the tie-breaker. The Sabres take three of the four games in the season series, outscoring the Lightning to 21 to 15 in the process. Will it matter if the two teams meet in the playoffs? Probably not, but for now they have bragging rights.

The loss stung for the Lightning, who were coming off a solid win over Pittsburgh in their last outing, but even more painful was losing forward Pontus Holmberg to an upper-body injury in the third period when he crashed into the boards. Following the game, Coach Jon Cooper described his status as “not good”. The Bolts were already without Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. They also received a scare earlier in the game when Brayden Point was sent crashing into the net and missed a little action at the end of the first period.

Point returned (and picked up an assist on the Guentzel goal), but the Lightning forward corps will be depleted on Tuesday when they take on the Ottawa Senators.

[Box Score] [Natural Stat Trick] [NHL.com Recap]

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