Buffalo hosts defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Lightning took a 1-0 lead on a shot by newly acquired ErikCondrabut the lead didnt last long as the Sabres were quick to battle back with a NicolasDeslauriers’goal in the second period.
Advertisement
In the end, the Sabres did a lot of things right, but – as in the first game of the season – they looked like a team composed of individual players that are just learning how to play together. “Maybe it will”, Cooper said.
Said Callahan: “You’re trying to put it there, but there’s obviously a few luck in getting the right bounce, and (Stamkos) finished it off”. Eichel centered newcomer Evander Kane and 19-year-old Sam Reinhart on Thursday, but Zemgus Girgensons replaced Reinhart on the line at practice Friday, according to the Sabres website, while offseason acquisition Ryan O’Reilly remained between Tyler Ennis and Matt Moulson.
“Tonight against a good team, we gave them essentially three goals”, he said.
“I liked the way we played the 30 minutes of the game, I liked the tempo and where we played it, but I still think we can do a better job of shooting the puck”, Head Coach Dan Bylsma said. Tampa Bay didn’t get a shot on Johnson until 8:35, and moments later forced the goalie into a sprawling rebound save on J.T. Brown. Nicolas Deslauriers tied it for Buffalo at 13:55, putting a backhand shot behind Tampa netminder Ben Bishop. The Lightning went into the first intermission with over a minute left on a power play from a Josh Gorges interference call, but trailed Buffalo in shots 11 to 8. With Tampa Bay turning up the pressure, Kucherov fired a hard wrist shot high to the glove side.
Going into the final period, the Lightning prevailed and held off the Sabres, but not before scoring two more goals.
Stamkos made it 3-1 on Callahan’s brilliant assist 8:53 into the third period.
LINING UP: The Lightning had the same lineup as Thursday’s opener, with C Cedric Paquette and D Nikita Nesterov scratched.
Advertisement
Captain Brian Gionta will again sit with a lower-body injury. Lieuwen played seven games for Buffalo during the 2013-14 season, posting a 1-4-0 record. Goaltender Robin Lehner has been placed on injured reserve. He was scheduled to receive an MRI Saturday….
