Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres Pick & Prediction APRIL 5th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently on a mission to secure their fifth division title in team history. On Saturday, they will be facing off against the Buffalo Sabres in pursuit of this goal.
With a record of 44-26-5 and 93 points, Tampa Bay currently holds the second place spot in the Atlantic Division. They are trailing behind the Toronto Maple Leafs by just three points, with only seven games left in the regular season. The reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, are also in close competition with the Lightning, just one point behind in the race for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Tampa Bay may have a slight advantage in their schedule for the remainder of the season. After their game against the Sabres on Saturday, they will play four of their last six games at home, where they have an impressive record of 27-8-2. In comparison, the Maple Leafs will be playing four of their last six games on the road, including a challenging back-to-back against the Panthers and the Lightning on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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The Lightning are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, which ended their four-game winning streak. Despite outshooting the Senators 32-19 and dominating the final period with an 11-3 shot advantage, the Lightning were unable to secure a win due to the exceptional performance of Ottawa's goaltender, Linus Ullmark, who made 31 saves. Tampa Bay also had a few missed opportunities, including a short-handed breakaway by Brandon Hagel and a shot off the crossbar by Anthony Cirelli.
Head coach Jon Cooper expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance, stating that sometimes in hockey, you simply don't win games despite playing well. Forward Yanni Gourde also acknowledged the team's efforts and their missed chances, but overall felt that they played a solid game.
The Sabres, on the other hand, are coming into this game with a four-game winning streak at home and two consecutive wins overall. In their last game against the Senators, they secured a 5-2 victory with goaltender James Reimer making 33 saves for his fifth straight win. Tage Thompson also scored his 39th goal of the season, tying him with Alex Ovechkin for third in the league.
Thompson has been on a hot streak lately, scoring five goals in his last five games, while Alex Tuch has a four-game goal streak. However, despite their recent success, the Sabres are 11 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with only eight games left in the season.
Thompson believes that the team has learned how to close out games and remain calm under pressure, which was a struggle for them earlier in the season. He also mentioned that there is a sense of confidence on the bench that they can secure wins in crucial moments.
This will be the second of three regular-season games between the Lightning and the Sabres. In their first matchup on March 6, the Lightning came out on top with a 6-5 win, led by a hat trick from Jake Guentzel. The two teams will also face off again on April 13 in Tampa.
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres Recap MAR 4TH 2023
Buffalo's Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner had a power-play goal and an assist apiece to lead the host Sabres to a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.
The Sabres earned points in three of four meetings (2-1-1) against their Atlantic Division foe in the season series, but they won for just the third time in the past 11 meetings (3-7-1) overall.
Vinnie Hinostroza, Tyson Jost and Jack Quinn netted goals while goaltender Eric Comrie (8-8-0) stopped 33 shots.
Following a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin handed out an assist.
Sabres forward Jordan Greenway, obtained near Friday's trade deadline, did not play. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson skated in his 100th NHL game.
In the first of eight March road games, Tampa Bay got markers from Brayden Point, Nick Perbix and Alex Killorn, plus 29 saves from goalie Brian Elliott.
The Lightning suffered their fourth straight loss (0-3-1). They dropped to 2-4-3 in their past nine games and 8-4-0 in the first match of a back-to-back set.
Captain Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Point did not play in the third period.
Acquired Wednesday from the San Jose Sharks, left winger Michael Eyssimont debuted on the fourth line.
Looking to improve on a 5-4-3 mark in February, the Lightning were able to take a 1-0 lead on their second power play after Dahlin's hooking infraction at 11:37.
Patient on the man advantage, the visitors worked the puck around to Kucherov, their leading point producer with 88, and the right winger fed Point for his 39th tally at 13:28 -- the center's seventh straight game with a goal.
But on its first power play after Nick Paul went off for holding, Buffalo evened it when Thompson -- who notched his fifth career hat trick in the previous meeting in Tampa on Feb. 23 -- ripped his 42nd goal from the left circle at 16:15.
At the end of a board battle behind Elliott in the second period, Hinostroza one-timed his second goal off a pass from Casey Mittelstadt at 5:35 for Buffalo's first lead.
Jost backhanded in a short-handed tally, his sixth, at 12:30. Quinn made it 4-1 with his 12th marker with 14 seconds left in the frame.
In the first minute of the third, Skinner netted the team's second power-play goal -- his 26th -- but Perbix answered with his fifth tally at 2:55 to make it 5-2.
Killorn's 16th goal, a short-handed one, ended the scoring.