National Hockey League
Buffalo 2, Tampa Bay 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Pierre Lambert
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Matt MacPherson
Attendance: 19092
Jason Pominville scored a power-play goal 1:26 into overtime to lead the visiting Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.

Evan Rodrigues also had a goal for the Sabres (20-33-11).

Cory Conacher scored for the Lightning (43-17-4).

Buffalo's Chad Johnson recorded 21 saves, while Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy had 32 stops.

On a four-on-three power play that carried over into overtime after Adam Erne's illegal check to the head against Johan Larsson, Pominville one-timed his 10th goal through Vasilevskiy's pads for the win.

Vasilevskiy shut out the Sabres 2-0 on Nov. 28, but Buffalo, owners of the second-worst mark in the NHL, earned a 5-3 win over the Lightning on Feb. 13 and was the more aggressive club in the first period Wednesday.

The Sabres outshot Tampa Bay 11-6 over the first 20 minutes, but the Lightning killed off the lone power play to keep the game scoreless until Conacher scored at 18:03.

Yanni Gourde brought the puck into the offensive zone and dropped a pass back to trailing defenseman Dan Girardi, who fired a long shot on Johnson.

Conacher, standing unguarded in the low slot, collected his own rebound, put the puck on his forehand and flipped it over Johnson for his seventh goal and a 1-0 lead.

Scott Wilson and Rodrigues both hit the post for Buffalo, and Brayden Point did as well on a breakaway in a wild middle of the second period.

Rodrigues scored his sixth goal at 11:47 of the third when he beat Vasilevskiy on the glove side to tie it.

Tampa Bay was playing without NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov, who was injured against Toronto on Monday. His 82 points lead Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin by six. Kucherov has led the league in scoring continuously since Dec. 12.

Newly acquired forward J.T. Miller played in his first game for the Lightning, while defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who is injured but skated in practice, did not. McDonagh has an upper-body injury and has missed the past 10 games. Both were dealt from the New York Rangers to Tampa Bay on Monday before the league's trade deadline.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Buffalo   Tampa Bay
Jason Pominville 2 Points Cory Conacher 1
Jason Pominville 1 Goals Cory Conacher 1
Jason Pominville 1 Assists Dan Girardi 1
Jason Pominville 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Chad Johnson .955 Save Percentage Andrei Vasilevskiy .941
Chad Johnson 21 Saves Andrei Vasilevskiy 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Buffalo 34 2 1-4 1-1 2 25
Tampa Bay 22 1 0-1 3-4 18 25
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Lightning have a W/L % of .636 after a win and .750 after a loss.
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Sabres have a W/L % of .263 after a win and .333 after a loss.