The Sabres and Lightning played one of the wildest hockey games you’ll ever see on Sunday night, combining for 15 goals and 102 penalty minutes as Buffalo won, 8–7. But that’s just the beginning.

Buffalo scores three times in the final 8:57 to win a fight-filled contest and move into first place in the Atlantic

The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in a closely contested match with a score of 8-7, thanks to the crucial goal scored by Josh Doan in the last minute of the match. This is the seventh consecutive match that the Buffalo Sabres have won,

The Sabres and Lightning play for 1st place at KeyBank Center. Lindy Ruff said it best during his postgame press conference on Saturday: These are the games you hope to be playing this time of year.

The Sabres broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and scored four unanswered goals to win their fifth straight coming out of the Olympic break and that coupled with the Lightning continuing to struggle with injuries have allowed Buffalo to pull even with the Lightning at 80 points,

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without center Dominic James after he underwent surgery on Tuesday for a lower-body injury. James is expected to miss 8–10 weeks, which will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Buffalo Sabres vs. Nashville Predators NHL game from March 7, 2026 on ESPN.