The game got away from Tampa Bay in the second period, as three unanswered Buffalo goals in the frame turned a tie game into one the Bolts were forced to chase.
Jeff Skinner extended the Sabres' lead to four in the opening minute of the third before the Bolts showed signs of life with back-to-back goals from Nick Perbix and Alex Killorn to round out the scoring.
Tampa Bay played the entire third period without Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point or Nikita Kucherov taking a shift.
The Bolts now head to Raleigh to face the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, BUF 0
13:28 Brayden Point (39) - Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos - PPG
Brayden Point scored in a seventh-consecutive game, giving Tampa Bay the lead with a power play goal from the slot. Point drifted free from coverage and rang his shot off the post and past Eric Comrie.
TBL 1, BUF 1
16:15 Tage Thompson (42) - Rasmus Dahlin - PPG
Buffalo answered with a power play goal of their own less than three minutes later to tie the game. A clearing attempt was held in by Rasmus Dahlin at the point, and he worked the puck to Thompson, who beat Elliott with a wrist shot from the left circle.
2nd Period
BUF 2, TBL 1
5:35 Vinnie Hinostroza (2) - Casey Mittelstadt, Dylan Cozens
Casey Mittelstadt won the puck in the corner and fed Vinnie Hinostroza in the slot for a one-timer that gave the Sabres the lead for the first time.
BUF 3, TBL 1
12:30 Tyson Jost (6) - Unassisted - SHG
What will count as a shorthanded goal for Tyson Jost came just as a 4-on-4 sequence ended and an abbreviated Lightning power play began. Steven Stamkos deflected a centering feed directly to Jost in front of the net and he scored to open a two-goal Buffalo lead.
BUF 4, TBL 1
19:46 Jack Quinn (12) - Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner
Tampa Bay found themselves looking up at a three-goal deficit after Jack Quinn struck for a dagger goal in the final minute of the second period. On one final rush, Quinn wristed a shot past Elliott from just inside the right circle to make it 4-1, Buffalo.
3rd Period
BUF 5, TBL 1
0:53 Jeff Skinner (26) - Unassisted - PPG
The Sabres cashed in after a Michael Eyssimont holding penalty sent them to the power play in the opening minute of the third. The puck popped free for Skinner at the top of the slot, and he beat Elliott to extend Buffalo's lead to four.
BUF 5, TBL 2
2:55 Nick Perbix (5) - Nick Paul
A stretch of five unanswered Sabres goals came to an end when Nick Perbix fired a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Comrie through traffic in front.
BUF 5, TBL 3
13:18 Alex Killorn (16) - Tanner Jeannot, Victor Hedman - SHG
With the puck in deep on the penalty kill, Tanner Jeannot looked as if he was going to play it back toward the Lightning net to waste more time, but instead made a nice feed through two Buffalo skaters to Alex Killorn in front of the net. Killorn pulled the puck to the far post and tucked home a shorthanded goal around Comrie's extended pad.
