Everything you need to know ahead of Tampa Bay's matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
When: Thursday, February 29 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: AMALIE Arena - Tampa, FL
TV coverage: Bally Sports (check local listings)
Radio coverage: 102.5 MHz-FM, Lightning Radio 24/7
Where to stream it: BallySports.com
Lines from Thursday's Practice (subject to change)
Brandon Hagel - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Mikey Eyssimont - Anthony Cirelli - Mitchell Chaffee
Steven Stamkos - Nick Paul - Conor Sheary
Tyler Motte - Luke Glendening - Tanner Jeannot
Defensemen
Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Calvin de Haan - Nick Perbix
Haydn Fleury - Erik Cernak
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
Thursday's MatchupThe Lightning and the Sabres are playing the third of four matchups this season and the first of two meetings at AMALIE Arena...The Bolts dropped the first meeting of the season in a 3-2 overtime loss Oct. 17 at BUF before skating to a 3-1 win Jan. 20 at BUF...Brandon Hagel (2-2—4) leads Tampa Bay in goals and points vs. BUF this season and is tied with Anthony Cirelli (0-2—2) for the team lead in assists...Hagel was drafted by BUF in 2016 (6th round, 159th overall) and has pointed in six of his seven career matchups vs. BUF (5-6—11)...Cirelli has found the scoresheet in eight of his last 10 contests vs. BUF (3-7—10), including each of the last four meetings at AMALIE Arena (1-3—4)...Nikita Kucherov is riding an 11-game home point streak vs. BUF (7-9—16) and has found the scoresheet in 13 of his last 15 meetings overall...Brayden Point has picked up points in seven of his last eight games vs. BUF (5-7—12) and has seven points over the last three meetings at AMALIE Arena (2-5—7)...Steven Stamkos has pointed in six of his last seven contests vs. BUF (4-7—11) and has recorded an assist in each of the last four meetings at AMALIE Arena (1-4—5)...Victor Hedman has found the scoresheet in eight of the last 11 home games vs. BUF (4-7—11)...Since being acquired by the Lightning in 2022, Nick Paul has picked up points in six of his seven contests vs. BUF (2-5—7)...The Bolts are 8-0-2 in their last 10 home games vs. BUF and 6-2-2 in the last 10 meetings overall...Tampa Bay is 51-49-10 with five ties all time vs. BUF, including a road record of 24-24-6 with three ties...Stamkos (22-25—47) holds the Lightning franchise records for career goals and points vs. BUF and is tied with Martin St. Louis (15-25—40) for the lead in assists...The Bolts have played on February 29 three times in franchise history and are 3-0-0 with wins over TOR (3-2 OTW, 2008; 2-1 W, 2016) and CGY (4-3 W, 2020).
Injuries
Haydn Fleury - Upper-body - Day-to-Day
Tanner Jeannot - Lower-Body - Day-to-Day
Mikhail Sergachev – Lower-body, Out
Tampa Bay Sports Item of the Game
Limited Edition Leap Year Collectors Puck
Celebrate this Leap Year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and get your Limited Edition Leap Year Collectors Puck. Available in store at AMALIE Arena and online at TampaBaySports.com, while supplies last.
The Road Ahead
Saturday, March 2 vs. Montreal Canadiens - Buy Tickets
Thursday, March 7 vs. Calgary Flames - Buy Tickets
Saturday, March 9 vs. Philadelphia Flyers - Buy Tickets
