Fists and pucks fly as Sabres dethrone Lightning atop the Atlantic

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 8, 2026

Published in Hockey

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — After years of playing in a half-empty arena at the KeyBank Center, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves in the loudest of lion’s dens Sunday night.

A storm was brewing in Buffalo, and with first place in the Atlantic Division on the line, the Sabres had everything going their way with an early second-period, three-goal lead and the home crowd chanting “We hate Tampa.”

The Lightning haven’t been the same since coming out of the Olympic break. Despite scoring five straight goals and claiming their first lead 59 seconds into the final period, the Lightning couldn’t withstand the Sabres’ third-period surge.

Buffalo scored the final three goals, capped by Josh Doan’s power-play goal with 4:17 left in regulation, handing the Lightning an 8-7 loss.

The win gives the Sabres sole possession of first place in the Atlantic; both teams came into the day tied atop the division with 82 points.

Nikita Kucherov, who had four points for the second straight night, gave the Lightning their first lead after scoring on a one-timer from the right circle. It came off a cross-ice feed from Brandon Hagel from the opposite halfwall.

The teams combined for 18 penalties for 70 penalty minutes — including six fighting majors and two 10-minute misconducts in the opening period. And it took just six seconds into the second period for two more fights to occur.

The Lightning’s four second-period goals came on 10 shots in the middle frame.

Defenseman Erik Cernak left the game after a fight with Michael Kesselring at the second-period puck drop and didn’t return.

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