TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin scored a power-play goal in overtime and the Buffalo Sabres rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Thursday night.
With Nikita Kucherov off for hooking, Dahlin scored from in-close 1:42 into overtime.
Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson also scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 21 shots.
Thompson made it 2-2 on the power play at 11:33 of the third.
Brayden Point and Mitchell Chaffee scored for the Lightning, who are currently in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves, and NHL points leader Kucherov had an assist to give him 104 this season.
Tampa Bay left wing Brandon Hagel had his 14-game point streak end. Only Steven Stamkos, who put together an 18-game run in 2009-10, had a longer one in Lightning history.
Luukkonen kept it close through 40 minutes with several strong stops, including a pad save on Point’s first-period backhander and a one-timer from the slot by Stamkos in the second.
Vasilevskiy made a big save on a short-handed breakaway by Jordan Greenway in the third.
Chaffee put the Lightning up 2-1 with a deflection with 2:42 left in the second.
Point extended his point streak to eight games when he made a nifty move on Luukkonen and scored a power-play goal 8:12 into the game.
Tuch tied it at 1 just 2:47 later after stealing a pass by Point.
Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson didn’t play due to illness.
Don Granato fined $25k
The NHL issued a $25,000 fine to Sabres coach Don Granato for unprofessional conduct directed at officials. The league deemed Thursday that Granato crossed the line during games on Tuesday night.
Granato was issued a bench minor in the third period of Buffalo’s 3-2 loss at Florida, after questioning officials for penalizing Zach Benson for tripping, while suggesting they missed several calls against the Panthers earlier in the game.
“At some point, you’ve got to stand up for your team,” Granato said following the game in explaining what sent him over the top. “You’re put in that position as a coach. It’s a tough position to be in. But you can’t sit and watch.”
The money will got to the NHL Foundation.