The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 8-7, on Sunday to move into first place in the Atlantic Division, and the game featured plenty of offensive fireworks and advanced stats highlights.
The Sabres-Lightning matchup was the 16th time in NHL history and 10th in the expansion era (since 1967-68) where both teams combined for at least seven goals in multiple periods of the game (second and third) and the first such game since Nov. 25, 1992 (Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues). The teams combined for 15 goals and 70 shots on goal (42-28 advantage for Buffalo).
Buffalo forward Tage Thompson (four assists; now has 11-game point streak) led a group of seven players with at least three points in the game (other Sabres: forward Jason Zucker, defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram had three each); Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, defensemen Darren Raddysh and J.J. Moser also each had three-point games. It is the first time in over 18 years that an NHL game featured that many players with three or more points (Calgary Flames, Lightning also combined for seven on Dec. 13, 2007).
The Sabres led the game 3-0 and 4-1 before the Lightning scored five unanswered goals to take a 6-4 lead. Then, Buffalo later overcame a 7-5 deficit to win in regulation by scoring the final three goals of the game over the final 8:57, capped by Josh Doan’s second goal with 4:17 left. With seven straight wins and an NHL-best 28-5-2 record over their past 35 games since Dec. 9, 2025, Buffalo is among the top five in the League standings at this stage of the season or later for the first time since their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2006-07 and are leading their division at this stage of the season or later for the first time since 2009-10.
There were six special teams goals in the game, five scored by the Sabres (four on power play, one shorthanded), highlighted by Doan’s go-ahead goal. It was Buffalo’s most special teams goals in one game since Nov. 8, 2011 (also had five against Winnipeg Jets).
Here are some advanced stats takeaways surrounding the Lightning-Sabres thriller, which was arguably the game of the year across the NHL this season:
Shot speed: Raddysh had the hardest shot of the game at 98.64 miles per hour; it was the hardest shot by any player in the seven NHL games on Sunday. Raddysh, who had two 90-plus mph shots in the game, leads the NHL with 75 such attempts this season (34 more than next-closest player).
Buffalo had 16 shot attempts of at least 80 mph by 10 different skaters, while Tampa Bay had eight such attempts. Thompson and Raddysh were tied for the most 80-plus mph attempts in the game (four each). There were four shot attempts of at least 90 mph in the game, two by Raddysh and one each by Thompson and Dahlin. Thompson leads NHL forwards in 90-plus mph shot attempts (31) this season, has the fifth-hardest shot attempt at the position this season (97.94 mph) and ranks in the 98th percentile in average shot speed (64.63 mph).
Skating speed: Buffalo had 26 speed bursts of at least 20 miles per hour, including forward Beck Malenstyn’s fastest burst by either team in the game (22.19 mph in first period). Malenstyn leads the Sabres with 13 speed bursts of at least 22 mph this season, which ranks in the 96th percentile among forwards.
Forward Ryan McLeod, who had an assist in the game, led all players in the game with six 20-plus mph speed bursts; he ranks eighth in the entire NHL with 250 such bursts this season. Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who had a goal and an assist in the game, had the fastest speed burst for the Lightning (22.15 mph in third period). He ranks among the forward leaders in the League’s 93rd percentile in 22-plus mph speed bursts (11) and 90th percentile in 20-plus mph bursts (138).
Goals off the rush: Per NHL EDGE IQ, there were six goals (four by Buffalo, two by Tampa Bay) scored off the rush, defined as ones that occur within five seconds of the puck crossing the offensive blue line. Both of Zucker’s goals were scored off the rush, including his goal that tied the game, 7-7, with 5:31 left in the third period.
Projected goal rate: Per NHL EDGE IQ,