Sabres hand Lightning 4th straight loss

BUFFALO --Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner each had a goal and an assist for the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Thompson (seven goals, six assists) and Skinner (six goals, six assists) has each recorded a point in eight of his past nine games.
"I think we needed a big response after our last game against Boston (a 7-1 loss on Thursday)," Thompson said. "I think we were on our heels a little bit last game, and I think tonight coming in we just wanted to make sure that no matter what happened, whether they get a push or not, we're stepping on the gas the whole time. I think we did a good job taking away time and space from them. I think in the third they got a little bit of a push there and I think we handled it pretty well."
Tyson Jost, Jack Quinn and Vinnie Hinostroza also scored, and Eric Comrie made 33 saves for the Sabres (32-25-4), who are 6-3-0 in their past nine games and are three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"We need the wins right now, so it's important," said Comrie, who has won each of his past four starts. "It feels good. The team's giving me a lot of goal support. I feel like I'm getting back in the spot where I felt at the start of the year where our team was fully healthy."

Alex Killorn had two goals, Brayden Point scored in his seventh straight game, and Brian Elliott made 29 saves for the Lightning (37-20-5), who have lost four straight (0-3-1) for the first time this season. They are third in the Atlantic Division, five points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for second.
"We're playing the game slow and we've done it now for probably a week and a half, two weeks," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "Now it's catching up on us in the wins-losses, but if we bring the passion and want and will that we brought in the third period tonight, this whatever you call it, this mini-slump here is not going to last too long. A lot of encouraging signs, but in the end, there's no moral victories in this game. A loss is a loss."
Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos, Point and Nikita Kucherov were
benched for the entire third period
.
"As coaches you've got to put your team in the best position to win, and 99.9 percent of the time those guys give us the best chance to win when they're on the ice," Cooper said. "Just felt in the third period they weren't giving us the best chance to win. … We have a set of standards here that everybody adheres to, and it's not pick and choose. It's everybody."
Point gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 13:28 of the first period, scoring from the slot off a pass from Kucherov on a power play.
Thompson tied it 1-1 at 16:15, receiving a cross-ice pass from Rasmus Dahlin and scoring on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle for his own power-play goal.

Hinostroza put the Sabres ahead 2-1 at 5:35 of the second period. Casey Mittelstadt won a battle behind the net and sent a pass to Hinostroza, who scored from the right hash marks.
Jost made it 3-1 at 12:30 with a short-handed goal from in front, and Quinn extended the lead to 4-1 at 19:46 from the top of the right circle off a pass from Thompson on a rush.
Skinner scored a power-play goal from the slot 53 seconds into the third period to make it 5-1.
Killorn cut it to 5-2 at 2:55 when he tipped in a shot by Nick Perbix. He then scored a short-handed goal at 13:18 for the 5-3 final.
"It's disappointing right now, but I just feel like we can't make excuses," Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon said. "It's been a tough stretch for us for the last few games now, and I don't know if guys have a lack of confidence, gripping the stick, making strong plays under pressure like we're used to. I think it's just it's between ears. It's all mental. … It's the little things. It's just an easy fix and we're just shooting ourselves in the foot once again, and that's not good."
NOTES: Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak skated in warmups but did not play. He's day to day with a lower-body injury. … Thompson is tied for third in the NHL with 18 power-play goals, behind Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (24) and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (19). … Buffalo defenseman Riley Stillman left the game late in the second period after a fight with Tampa Bay forward Tanner Jeannot. Sabres coach Don Granato said after the game Stillman "appears to be" OK but did not have a definitive update. … Dahlin returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury.