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Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning

Benchmark International Arena, Tampa Regular Season Final

Final score

The Buffalo Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6–2 on Saturday, February 28, 2026 on the road.

Team Goals 2025-2026 record
Buffalo Sabres 6 50-23-9
at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 50-26-6

Goals by period

Team Total
Buffalo Sabres 4 1 1 6
Tampa Bay Lightning 0 1 1 2

Shots on goal by period

Team Total
Buffalo Sabres 10 20 5 35
Tampa Bay Lightning 14 12 12 38

Three stars

  1. R. Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres (1 goal, 2 assists)
  2. J. Norris, Buffalo Sabres (2 goals)
  3. Z. Metsa, Buffalo Sabres (1 goal, 1 assist)

Scoring summary

Period Time Team Goal Assists Type Score
1st 05:25 Buffalo Sabres Rasmus Dahlin (12) Owen Power (14) Even strength BUF 1, TBL 0
1st 06:15 Buffalo Sabres Josh Norris (7) Josh Doan (22), Zach Metsa (2) Even strength BUF 2, TBL 0
1st 08:18 Buffalo Sabres Josh Norris (8) Bowen Byram (21), Zach Benson (20) Even strength BUF 3, TBL 0
1st 15:06 Buffalo Sabres Tage Thompson (32) Peyton Krebs (20), Rasmus Dahlin (38) Even strength BUF 4, TBL 0
2nd 01:54 Buffalo Sabres Zach Metsa (2) Unassisted Even strength BUF 5, TBL 0
2nd 16:03 Tampa Bay Lightning Dominic James (7) Oliver Bjorkstrand (18), Victor Hedman (14) Even strength BUF 5, TBL 1
3rd 03:43 Buffalo Sabres Alex Tuch (24) Rasmus Dahlin (39), Jack Quinn (26) Power play BUF 6, TBL 1
3rd 05:27 Tampa Bay Lightning Victor Hedman (1) Darren Raddysh (37) Even strength BUF 6, TBL 2

Numbers in brackets are the player's season totals after the goal.

Team stats

Stat Buffalo Sabres Tampa Bay Lightning
Shots on goal 35 38
Power play 1 of 5 0 of 3
Penalty minutes 12 28
Hits 16 28
Blocked shots 14 5
Giveaways 16 11
Takeaways 2 6
Faceoffs won 31/64 (48.4%) 33/64 (51.6%)

Box score

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres skaters
Player
6 Z. Benson L 0 1 1 +1 2 0 2 0 0 100% 13:39
9 J. Norris C 2 0 2 +2 0 2 0 0 0 43.8% 15:03
17 J. Zucker L 0 0 0 +2 0 1 0 1 0 100% 12:05
19 P. Krebs C 0 1 1 -1 0 0 5 0 0 33.3% 10:59
22 J. Quinn R 0 1 1 +2 0 2 1 0 0 14:21
29 B. Malenstyn L 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 0 12:26
48 T. Kozak C 0 0 0 +1 0 0 0 1 0 38.5% 13:04
71 R. McLeod C 0 0 0 +1 0 2 0 1 0 47.6% 20:21
72 T. Thompson C 1 0 1 -1 0 6 0 0 0 75% 16:00
86 N. Ostlund C 0 0 0 +1 0 0 1 2 0 14:46
89 A. Tuch R 1 0 1 -1 2 5 1 0 1 18:15
91 J. Doan R 0 1 1 +2 0 2 1 1 0 16:08
4 B. Byram D 0 1 1 +2 0 4 0 2 0 22:45
8 M. Kesselring D 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 0 08:40
23 M. Samuelsson D 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 2 0 24:08
25 O. Power D 0 1 1 +2 0 4 0 0 0 19:59
26 R. Dahlin D 1 2 3 +2 2 2 0 0 0 24:32
73 Z. Metsa D 1 1 2 +2 0 3 0 2 0 13:08
Buffalo Sabres goalies
Goalie
1 U. Luukkonen 38 36 2 .947 59:41 Win

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning skaters
Player
17 D. James C 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 66.7% 13:06
21 B. Point C 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 56.3% 17:52
22 O. Bjorkstrand R 0 1 1 -1 0 4 2 0 0 16:24
28 Z. Girgensons C 0 0 0 -1 0 3 3 0 0 15:03
29 P. Holmberg R 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 13:52
37 Y. Gourde C 0 0 0 -1 0 1 5 0 0 31.3% 15:59
38 B. Hagel L 0 0 0 -1 0 8 0 1 0 21:05
59 J. Guentzel C 0 0 0 -1 14 3 0 0 0 50% 13:02
71 A. Cirelli C 0 0 0 -2 2 1 2 0 0 66.7% 14:01
86 N. Kucherov R 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 0 0 20:11
93 G. Goncalves C 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 0 0 08:17
27 R. McDonagh D 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 0 0 16:16
43 D. Raddysh D 0 1 1 +1 2 3 1 0 0 21:18
51 C. D'Astous D 0 0 0 -2 4 0 3 0 0 15:50
77 V. Hedman D 1 1 2 +1 2 2 1 1 0 16:53
78 E. Lilleberg D 0 0 0 -1 2 3 3 0 0 16:45
81 E. Cernak D 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 1 0 14:39
90 J. Moser D 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 1 0 15:46
Tampa Bay Lightning goalies
Goalie
31 J. Johansson 21 20 1 .952 38:06
88 A. Vasilevskiy 14 9 5 .643 21:54 Loss

Penalties

Period Time Team Player Infraction Minutes
1st 10:44 Buffalo Sabres Zach Benson Cross checking 2
2nd 05:47 Tampa Bay Lightning Brayden Point Slashing 2
2nd 05:47 Buffalo Sabres Rasmus Dahlin Cross checking 2
2nd 10:26 Tampa Bay Lightning Emil Lilleberg Roughing 2
2nd 12:10 Tampa Bay Lightning Jake Guentzel Delaying game puck over glass 2
2nd 16:03 Tampa Bay Lightning Victor Hedman Roughing 2
2nd 16:03 Buffalo Sabres Mattias Samuelsson Roughing 2
3rd 01:28 Buffalo Sabres Alex Tuch Roughing 2
3rd 01:28 Tampa Bay Lightning Charle-Edouard D'Astous Roughing 2
3rd 01:28 Buffalo Sabres Michael Kesselring Cross checking 2
3rd 02:02 Tampa Bay Lightning Jake Guentzel Abuse of officials 2
3rd 02:02 Tampa Bay Lightning Jake Guentzel Abusive language (game misconduct) 10
3rd 06:23 Tampa Bay Lightning Darren Raddysh Cross checking 2
3rd 12:48 Tampa Bay Lightning Anthony Cirelli Interference 2
3rd 17:12 Buffalo Sabres Michael Kesselring Cross checking 2
3rd 20:00 Tampa Bay Lightning Charle-Edouard D'Astous Roughing 2

Game information

Buffalo Sabres head coach
Lindy Ruff
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach
Jon Cooper
Referees
Furman South, Jean Hebert
Linesmen
Julien Fournier, Jonny Murray
Buffalo Sabres scratches
Alex Lyon, Jacob Bryson, Josh Dunne
Tampa Bay Lightning scratches
Scott Sabourin, Curtis Douglas, Declan Carlile

2025-2026 season series

Matchup Status Details
Buffalo Sabres 3 at Tampa Bay Lightning 4 Final/OT Game page
Buffalo Sabres 6 at Tampa Bay Lightning 2 Final Game page
Tampa Bay Lightning 7 at Buffalo Sabres 8 Final Game page
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at Buffalo Sabres 4 Final Game page

Other NHL games on Feb 28

Matchup Status Details
Pittsburgh Penguins 2 at New York Rangers 3 Final/SO Game page
Boston Bruins 1 at Philadelphia Flyers 3 Final Game page
Edmonton Oilers 4 at San Jose Sharks 5 Final Game page
New Jersey Devils 3 at St. Louis Blues 1 Final Game page
New York Islanders 4 at Columbus Blue Jackets 3 Final/OT Game page
Chicago Blackhawks 1 at Colorado Avalanche 3 Final Game page
Ottawa Senators 5 at Toronto Maple Leafs 2 Final Game page
Washington Capitals 2 at Montreal Canadiens 6 Final Game page
Detroit Red Wings 2 at Carolina Hurricanes 5 Final Game page
Calgary Flames 0 at Los Angeles Kings 2 Final Game page
Nashville Predators 2 at Dallas Stars 3 Final/OT Game page
Vancouver Canucks 1 at Seattle Kraken 5 Final Game page

Sources and further reading

More schedules