Mishkin's Extra Shift: Lightning 6, Sabres 5 - OT

This was certainly a wild game. It was also a sloppy defensive game. And a high scoring-chance game. As a result, no lead was safe. Both teams rallied from two-goal deficits. The Sabres came from behind late in the first period, beginning a stretch in which they recorded five out of the game's next six goals. But the Lightning, down 5-3 with under six minutes left in the third period, netted the contest's final three tallies.

In winning five of their previous six games, the Lightning displayed better team defense than they had earlier in the year. But their defensive work in the opening 30 minutes of this game wasn't strong. They struggled with defensive zone puck management and neutral zone rush coverage. Consequently, the Sabres owned the majority of the possession time and created a high volume of scoring chances. Brian Elliott was sensational early on in keeping the Sabres off the board. At the other end of the ice, the Lightning converted on two of their four first period shots. Brayden Point scored from the top of the crease during a Lightning power play and then, with just over three minutes left in the frame, Corey Perry finished a cross-ice pass from Steven Stamkos. But the Sabres would tie things before the period ended. A Lightning d-zone turnover led to Tage Thompson's goal on an in-alone chance at 17:54. Then off the rush, Jack Quinn converted at 18:53. Although the Lightning led for most of the first period, they were badly outplayed. They were outshot, 14-4, only managed 11 total attempts, and yielded a multitude of scoring chances.
The Lightning's defensive play began improving in the second period, but they still endured some wobbly moments. One of those came just shy of the halfway mark. Kyle Okposo's shot from the slot created a rebound chance for Tyson Jost. Jost roofed the second shot into the top of the net, giving Buffalo its first lead of the game.
It didn't last. Late in the frame, after Kucherov was high-sticked and the Lightning went on their second power play, Point wristed in a shot from the slot.
Dylan Cozens generated a good scoring chance early in the third period when he got loose on a partial breakaway. Elliott made the save. But Cozens eventually did put the puck past Elliott at 9:37, firing in a right circle shot. The Lightning pressed and almost tied the game, but an Alex Killorn point shot rang off the post. Then, with just under six minutes left, the Lightning surrendered a two-on-one rush to Thompson and Jeff Skinner. Ian Cole broke up Thompson's pass, but Skinner scooped up the loose puck and wired a shot into the top of the net from a sharp angle.
The score was 5-3 with 5:41 remaining. On the next shift, the puck was deflected into the Buffalo bench, leading to the final TV timeout of the game. Coming out of that break, Stamkos won a neutral zone face-off and the puck went into the Buffalo end. Killorn took it out of the right corner and attempted to stuff it in. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the initial save, but Stamkos slammed in the rebound. Suddenly, it was 5-4.
Less than a minute later, Kucherov was called for goaltender interference. But Rasmus Dahlin retaliated on Kucherov, leading to a four-on-four. Brandon Hagel won a puck battle in the corner and set up Point in front of the net. Tyson Jost hooked Point, denying a scoring chance. The infraction was whistled. The Lightning didn't record a shot on goal during the four-on-three, which lasted 40 seconds. But when Kucherov came out of the box, there was an immediate whistle. The Lightning pulled Elliott and went with a six-on-four power play. They won the offensive zone face-off to gain possession. The puck came to Kucherov at the right circle and Hagel deflected Kucherov's one-timer past Luukkonen, tying the game with 2:02 left in regulation.
On the next shift, Owen Power shot the puck out of play from his own end, giving the Lightning one final power play with 1:37 left. Not only did the Lightning not score on that last man advantage, they yielded a breakaway to Power when he came out of the box in overtime. Ellliott made that save, as well as four others before Stamkos' OT winner. The sequence began with a Stamkos face-off win in the defensive zone. Nick Paul barreled up the right wing, taking Alex Tuch with him. From the right circle in the Buffalo end, Paul dropped the puck to Stamkos, who had room to skate closer to the net. Stamkos drilled a perfect shot into the top corner at 2:44, completing the comeback.
On the positive side, the Lightning showed great resilience in rallying late from a multi-goal deficit. Their power play, going three-for-four, was a big reason why they won. And they did improve defensively in the second half of the game. But this performance, from a defensive standpoint, was well below their standard. In Tuesday's game at Boston, against a team that hasn't lost at home so far this year, they know they'll need to be tighter defensively.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
1. Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Two goals and assist,
2. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Three assists.
3. Brayden Point - Lightning. Two goals.