Lightning build Atlantic lead with win against Sabres

TAMPA-- The Tampa Bay Lightning added to their lead in the Atlantic Division by scoring three third-period goals for a 7-5 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Amalie Arena on Friday.

WATCH: [All Sabres vs. Lightning highlights]
Tampa Bay (54-23-4) leads the Boston Bruins by two points and can clinch the division with a regulation or overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes in the regular-season finale Saturday.
"It's huge. It's something we want to do and we've been working really hard to make it happen," Lightning forward Yanni Gourde said. "Right now it's in reach and we just have to play the right way and do the right thing tomorrow."
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored his 39th goal and had an assist to reach 100 points for the first time.
"Without my teammates I wouldn't be where I am right now," Kucherov said. "Not every season you get 100 points. I think it's very special and it's something I will remember for the rest of my life."

Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander each scored his first NHL goal for Buffalo (25-44-12), which is 2-8-0 in their past 10 games and will finish last in the NHL.
"We knew what to expect, obviously they are a team that can score a lot," Sabres center Jack Eichel said. "We put ourselves behind the eight ball a little bit and probably gave them too much."
Anthony Cirelli tied the game 5-5 at 6:15 of the third period off a tip from a shot by Alex Killorn. Brayden Point made it 6-5 at 7:02 with a one-timer that deflected off the shoulder of Sabres defenseman Brendan Guhle. Victor Hedman scored an empty-net goal at 18:34 for the 7-5 final.
It was the Sabres' first regulation loss when leading to start the third period (16-1-5).
"We just kind of regrouped [in the third period]," Cirelli said. "We know we're a good team. We know the way we need to play. We went out there in the third and lucky for us we got a couple of goals and got the win."
Cirelli scored 30 seconds into the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. Mittelstadt, in his fifth NHL game, scored on a power play at 2:57 to tie it 1-1.
Kucherov made it 2-1 with an unassisted goal at 4:35, before Nylander, in his sixth NHL game, tied it 2-2 at 6:32. Yanni Gourde set a Lightning rookie record with his 25th goal at 9:40 for a 3-2 lead; it was his first in 14 games.
"I hadn't scored in a long time so it felt very good to finally score," Gourde said. "I was more happy to score a goal than to break the record. It was such a long stretch to go without a goal and I was happy to get one. But obviously my teammates played amazing tonight. Killorn and Cirelli played very well. It was good for the group to get us going."
Dan Girardi scored off on a one-timer at 1:04 of the second period to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead. Jason Pominville made it 4-3 at 8:59, Jordan Nolan tied it 4-4 at 15:58, and Kyle Okposo scored a power-play goal at 18:45 to make it 5-4.
"We had a [penalty] kill and that was huge for us," Mittelstadt said. "It carried over and obviously we got a few [goals] there. We've just got to do a better job in the third."
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for his NHL-leading 44th win. Gourde had two assists to reach 64 points, also a Lightning rookie record.

Goal of the game

Point's goal at 7:02 of the third period.

Save of the game

Vasilevskiy's save on Eichel at 8:28 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Hedman's goal at 18:34 of the third period.

They said it

"We had our chances. We had a good amount of chances in the third. Maybe we got a little passive. Look at their two goals, it's was a direct result of us. I don't know ... it's frustrating." -- Sabres center Jack Eichel

"We were turning pucks over, we were just feeding their rush and they deserved to come out of [the second] period with a lead. And that's tough, we have a 4-2 lead, but we challenged the guys in between periods and they answered the call." -- Lightning coach John Cooper

Need to know

Kucherov is the third Lightning player to reach 100 points (Vincent Lecavalier, 108 points in 2006-07; Martin St. Louis, 102 points in 2006-07). Kucherov is the sixth Russia-born player to reach 100 points in an NHL season (Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov). Kucherov trails Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers by six points for the NHL scoring lead. ... The last time the Sabres had two players score his first NHL goal in the same game was March 3, 1995 (Curtis Brown and Wayne Primeau against the New Jersey Devils). ... Killorn had three assists and was plus-5. ... Tyler Johnson scored 24 goals as a Lightning rookie in 2013-14. Brad Richards had 62 points as a Lightning rookie in 2000-01.

What's next

Sabres: At the Florida Panthers on Saturday (7 p.m., FS-F, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Lightning: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, SUN, NHL.TV)