It could be a big hit. It could be a big save. Maybe it’s a spectacular goal or a wild, fist-flinging fight. The moments that spark a team to success are never known before they happen. They are only revealed after the final outcome. The final chapter on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s season hasn’t been written yet, but maybe, just maybe it’s something as simple as the opposing team not choosing to challenge a potential off-side call that leads the Bolt’s to success.
Tampa Bay was down early in the second period after a good, but not overwhelming first period concluded with a thud as the Buffalo Sabres scored twice in the final minute to take a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes. The Lightning shook off the bad finish to start the middle frame strong, and appeared to tie the game when Ryan McDonagh slapped home the puck from the top of the slot.
As the crowd cheered, the TV cameras focused in on the Buffalo bench. Specifically on head coach Lindy Ruff staring down at the floor. Of course, he wasn’t looking for his contact lens, but rather at the monitors discreetly placed out of view. The play that had drawn his interest was the entry by the Lightning into the zone. Was it off-side? Did the skate come off of the blue line? The seconds ticked away with no decision. Eventually, Ruff decided to let the play go unchallenged and the goal stood.
What if he hadn’t? What if it was challenged and determined to be off-side? Would the Lightning shake it off and score three more goals like they did? Or would it be another close-but-no-cigar moment like the two posts they hit in the first period on the way to another frustrating loss? Sliding door moments like that are always interesting because the opposite outcome is never known.
The goal stood, and it sparked the Lightning’s offense. Nikita Kucherov would score the first of two goals on the night prior to Conor Geekie celebrating his return to the NHL with a goal. Emil Lilleberg finally turned the zero in the Career Goals category into a one with a nice quick one-timer that eluded an overwhelmed James Reimer.
The rout was on, and the Lightning shook off the frustrations of the previous week with a seven-goal outburst. Kucherov ended up with three points on the night to move into first place in the points race all alone. Guentzel reached the 40-goal mark in his first season as a Bolt with a two-goal performance. Rookie Gage Goncalves kept the good times rolling as he added two more assists to his point total.
Tampa Bay doesn’t lack in confidence in the locker room. They know who they are even when they aren’t living up to the high standards they’ve set for themselves. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a sense of relief when the goals start going in after a rough stretch. Their game looked more relaxed throughout the second period and even though the Sabres scored twice in the third (including on a 5-on-3) the outcome was never in doubt.
Jonas Johansson, probably making the last start of the season (and possibly of his Lightning career) was solid in net with a back-up goalie type of win. After a busy first period where he saw 11 shots, the Sabres were only able to put 14 more on net through the final two periods. He wasn’t spectacular, but made the saves he needed to make in order to give the Lightning a chance to win. It helped that the Lightning played their best defense by dominating on offense as they generated 57.94% of the shot attempts and 69.23% of the high-danger chances throughout the night.
The solid defensive effort (at least for the majority of the game) came despite the loss of another member of the team. Darren Raddysh left the game with about six minutes to go in the second period and didn’t return. Coach Cooper did not have an update on his status after the game. The injured list for the Lightning is quietly growing as Raddysh joins Luke Glendening and Oliver Bjorkstrand in the trainer’s room.
Beating a team that is near the bottom of the standings is nothing to pop bottles about. However, it is a sneaky big win for the Bolts as they crest the 100-point mark on the season. It also means that, at worst, they’ll head into Tuesday’s showdown with the Florida Panthers tied in points and holding the first tie-breaker (regulation wins). Florida can match them in points if they beat the Rangers on Monday. Tampa Bay also keeps their chance at winning the division alive. It’s a small chance (about the size of a thermal exhaust port on a Death Star) but it’s still a chance. They can overtake the Maple Leafs if the Lightning win out and Toronto loses their next two games in regulation.
It was a solid, if somewhat expected, win for the Lightning. Can they build on it and take the positives into their next, much more important, outing? That question remains to be answered.
The Goals
Jake Guentzel (Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli) 1-0 Lightning
Jiri Kulich (Tage Thompson) 1-1
Conor Clifton (Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn) 2-1 Sabres
Ryan McDonagh (Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli) 2-2
Nikita Kucherov (Victor Hedman, Yanni Gourde) 3-2 Lightning
Conor Geekie (Gage Goncalves, Nick Paul) 4-2 Lightning
Emil Lilleberg (Mitchell Chaffee, Gage Goncalves) 5-2 Lightning
Nikita Kucherov (unassisted) 6-2 Lightning
Alex Tuch (Rasmus Dahlin, J.J. Peterka) Power Play, 6-3
Jake Guentzel (Nikita Kucherov, Nick Paul) Power Play, 7-3
Sam Lafferty (Rasmus Dahlin) 7-4 Lightning
The Charts
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Tampa Bay Lightning on 2025-04-13 #GoBolts
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards.com) April 13, 2025 at 8:50 PM
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