Fittingly, it was Steven Stamkos who started and finished the comeback, scoring at 14:35 of the third to get Tampa Bay within a goal and then again midway through overtime to claim the second point for Tampa Bay.
Brayden Point also finished with a pair of goals, giving him back-to-back two-goal games. Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev each recorded three assists.
Tampa Bay's offense was paced by the power play, scoring three times on their four chances.
Brian Elliott got the start in the first half of the back-to-back and extended his own winning streak to five games.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, BUF 0
7:54 Brayden Point (9) - Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel - PPG
Brayden Point showed off some impressive stickhandling to give Tampa Bay the lead with a power play goal. He toe-dragged the puck around Ilya Lyubushkin to get to the front of the net moved to his forehand and tucked it around Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's outstretched left pad.
TBL 2, BUF 0
16:48 Corey Perry (3) - Steven Stamkos
Tampa Bay pushed the lead to two at 16:48 of the opening period when Steven Stamkos circled the net and found Corey Perry streaking toward the backdoor. Stamkos hit Perry in stride, and he quickly fired the puck past Luukkonen.
TBL 2, BUF 1
17:54 Tage Thompson (14) - Unassisted
Tage Thompson intercepted a pass in the corner and moved uncontested to the front of the net. Thompson used his reach to stretch the puck around Elliott and tuck it home at the far post to get Buffalo on the board.
TBL 2, BUF 2
18:53 Jack Quinn (4) - JJ Peterka, Owen Power
A second Sabres goal in less than a minute sent the teams to intermission tied at two. On the rush, Jack Quinn played give-and-go with JJ Peterka and beat Brian Elliott.
2nd Period
BUF 3, TBL 2
9:07 Tyson Jost (1) - Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons
Elliott stopped Kyle Okposo's initial shot, but Tyson Jost was first to the rebound and scored to give the Sabres the lead for the first time.
BUF 3, TBL 3
16:26 Brayden Point (10) - Nikita Kucherov, Mikhail Sergachev - PPG
Point's second power play goal of the night drew the Lightning level. Tampa Bay had sustained pressure throughout the opportunity and finally cashed in when Point whistled home a shot from the bumper spot.
Third Period
BUF 4, TBL 3
9:37 Dylan Cozens (6) - Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson
The Sabres went in front again midway through the third when Dylan Cozen's shot from the right circle beat Elliott high to the glove side.
BUF 5, TBL 3
14:19 Jeff Skinner (10) - Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch
Ian Cole successfully defended a Buffalo 2-on-1, knocking the puck off toward the corner. Jeff Skinner skated it down and slipped a shot from a sharp angle over Elliott's shoulder.
BUF 5, TBL 4
14:35 Steven Stamkos (11) - Alex Killorn, Mikhail Sergachev
Alex Killorn stepped out of the corner to the front of the net. Killorn couldn't jam home his shot, but the puck popped free, and Steven Stamkos pounced to get Tampa Bay back within a goal.
BUF 5, TBL 5
17:58 Brandon Hagel (7) - Nikita Kucherov, Mikhail Sergachev - PPG
With the Lightning on their third power play of the game late in the third, Jon Cooper elected to pull Elliott and give Tampa Bay a 6-on-4 advantage. The move paid off as Kucherov's one-timer from the right circle wound up in the Buffalo net after taking a deflection off Brandon Hagel's leg.
Overtime
TBL 6, BUF 5
2:44 Steven Stamkos (12) - Nick Paul
Stamkos took a drop feed from Nick Paul and wired a shot past Luukkonen to claim the second point for Tampa Bay.
