Recap: Lightning 7, Sabres 4

The Tampa Bay Lightning exploded for five unanswered goals in the second period on Sunday to take down the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 at AMALIE Arena.

Jake Guentzel opened the scoring with his rebound goal in the first period, but the Sabres scored twice in quick fashion to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Tampa Bay responded with four goals in the second period, which included Ryan McDonagh’s game-tying goal, Nikita Kucherov’s 3-2 marker to take the NHL scoring lead, a first NHL goal for defenseman Emil Lilleberg and rookie Conor Geekie’s goal in his first game with the Lightning since February.

Kucherov and Guentzel each scored their second goals of the night in the third period, and Buffalo had a power-play goal before closing the scoring late.

Kucherov led all players with three points, while goalie Jonas Johansson made 21 saves for the win.

Up next for the Lightning is the final regular season home game of the year, set for Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

Scoring summary

First period

TBL 1, BUF 0

16:35 Jake Guentzel (39) - Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli

The Lightning got on the board first when Jake Guentzel scored on a rebound at the left post following Anthony Cirelli’s initial shot in front of the Buffalo net.

TBL 1, BUF 1

19:37 Jiri Kulich (15) - Tage Thompson

The Sabres tied the game in the final minute of the period. Tage Thompson took the puck around the right post, and his pass was deflected to an open Jiri Kulich, who scored near the left post.

BUF 2, TBL 1

19:52 Connor Clifton (1) - Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn

Buffalo took its first lead with eight seconds left in the first period. Another in-tight chance ended with Connor Clifton’s first goal of the season.

Shots on goal: BUF 11, TBL 5

Second period

TBL 2, BUF 2

3:02 Ryan McDonagh (4) - Hagel, Cirelli

Tampa Bay tied the game early in the second period on Ryan McDonagh’s shot from the top of the left faceoff circle.

TBL 3, BUF 2

6:34 Nikita Kucherov (35) - Victor Hedman, Yanni Gourde

The NHL’s leading scorer gave the home team a one-goal advantage when he buried his own rebound after his shot hit the crossbar and laid in the crease after bouncing off James Reimer’s back.

TBL 4, BUF 2

14:20 Conor Geekie (7) - Gage Goncalves, Nick Paul

Rookie Conor Geekie scored in his first NHL game since Feb. 1 to extend Tampa Bay’s lead. Geekie’s initial shot was saved, but the rebound launched into the air back to his stick in the high slot, where he buried his seventh goal of the season.

TBL 5, BUF 2

16:45 Emil Lilleberg (1) - Mitchell Chaffee, Goncalves

The first NHL goal of defenseman Emil Lilleberg’s career closed a four-goal period for Tampa Bay. Lilleberg’s one-timer from the left point beat Reimer on the glove side.

Shots on goal: TBL 15, BUF 7

Third period

TBL 6, BUF 2

2:39 Kucherov (36) - Unassisted

Kucherov’s second goal of the game came after he intercepted a Sabres pass and ripped home another top shelf shot.

TBL 6, BUF 3

8:39 Alex Tuch (35) - Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka - PP

An Alex Tuch redirection at the left post of a Sabres 5-on-3 power play pulled the Sabres within three goals of Tampa Bay.

TBL 7, BUF 3

13:21 Guentzel (40) - Kucherov, Hagel - PP

Guentzel’s second goal of the night was the end of a slick passing play on a Lightning man advantage.

TBL 7, BUF 4

18:23 Sam Lafferty (4) - Dahlin

Buffalo closed the scoring late in the third.

Total shots: TBL 31, BUF 25