Postgame Report | Power logs career-high minutes in loss to Lightning

TAMPA -With Rasmus Dahlin sidelined due to an injury, the Sabres fought their way to a third-period lead before falling 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning inside Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Jeff Skinner scored to break a 2-2 tie less than five minutes into the third period. Brandon Hagel responded with the tying goal 3:15 later and Nick Perbix added the go-ahead goal with 4:55 remaining. Both goals came immediately after chances for the Sabres at the other end.
"The effort was great," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Effort was great. We had a chance to win the game. We had a chance to pull ahead in the game.
"… We lost that game because of difference in experience, not skill. It was difference in experience. That was evident when you look at the detail of it. So, the effort was great. There were lots of great things about it, but that's a real learning point. We need to gain some experience from this, and we will."
Zemgus Girgensons and Casey Mittelstadt scored goals for the Sabres. Owen Power skated a career-high 28:14 and tallied two assists.
Eric Comrie made 25 saves.
The loss was the second in as many nights for the Sabres, who played back-to-back road games against Eastern Conference contenders after winning three in a row at home. They trailed the Carolina Hurricanes by one goal midway through the third period on Friday before falling 5-3.
They were tasked Saturday with defeating a Lightning team that has advanced to the Stanley Cup Final three years straight without the services of Dahlin, who entered the day with a team-high 15 points and ranked fifth in the NHL with an average ice time of 25:54.
Dahlin sustained an upper-body injury during the loss to the Hurricanes. He is considered day to day.
The Sabres fought hard in his absence, nearly earning at least a point before falling down the stretch.
"We didn't play an experienced enough game down the stretch specifically," Granato said. "But we know we're going to get better because of it so we'll look at it that way and make it stronger."

Video: BUF Recap: Power records 2 assists in 5-3 loss

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How it happened

PERIOD 1
The Sabres and Lightning played a tight first 20 minutes, emerging from the first period tied 1-1 with seven shots apiece.
Nick Paul skated into the slot and buried a feed from Victor Hedman to put the Lightning on the board at 7:07. Girgensons scored on a carom off the end boards to tie the score at 16:24.

PERIOD 2
The two teams traded four penalties in the first half of the period, each capitalizing once with a power-play goal.
Brayden Point finished a give-and-go play from Steven Stamkos to put the Lightning ahead 5:05 into the period. Mittelstadt tipped a shot from Power to tie the score 2-2 just 3:29 later.

The score held to intermission, though not for a lack of chances. Comrie's 14 saves included a sequence in which he robbed Nikita Kucherov on two chances around the crease and a spin-o-rama attempt from Point directly in front of the net.
The Sabres managed 10 shots and 21 attempts in the period, including a shot on the rush from JJ Peterka that rang the far-side post during the final minute.
PERIOD 3
Skinner put the Sabres ahead 4:25 into the period. He received a pass from Alex Tuch to the right of the net, stayed patient as Elliott dropped to the ice, then cut into the blue paint and scored.

The Lightning responded just 3:15 later with the goal from Hagel, who whiffed on an initial attempt from in tight but buried his own rebound the Comrie's pad.
With 4:55 remaining, Nick Perbix scored his first-career NHL goal to put the Lightning ahead for good.
Kucherov added an empty-net goal to put Tampa up by two with 57.7 seconds remaining. He finished with four points.
Lightning goaltender Brian Elliott improved to 19-4-2 in his career against the Sabres.

What we learned

1. Ilya Lyubushkin entered the lineup place of Dahlin, returning from his own four-game absence stemming from a lower-body injury. Lyubushkin skated 22:14 with seven hits and a blocked shot.
2.Power - who leads NHL rookies in ice time - played the most minutes in Dahlin's absence, earning rave reviews from his coach.
"He's one hell of a player, one hell of a talented kid," Granato said. "And he handled it. He handled it. ... The environment did not affect him one bit and I can't say that for every guy on the team. It's just amazing, his performance tonight and focus."
3.Power said he's embraced the added responsibility while the Sabres have dealt with injuries to their defense corps. In addition to Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju have both been out since mid-October.
"I think it's been good for me to kind of play those big minutes and just get more comfortable," he said. "Obviously it's not ideal for the guys that are hurt and the team, but I think it's a good opportunity for me to, like I said, just to kind of feel more comfortable."
4.The Sabres concluded their moms' trip, which began in Buffalo for the team's win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Players and staff were then joined by moms and other guests for the back-to-back road games in Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Check out some photos from the moms' suite in the tweets below.

Up next

The Sabres host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday to open a four-game homestand. Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7 on MSG and WGR 550.