Kucherov, Raddysh Lead Improbable Comeback as Bolts Tame Sabres in OT
- Mike Smith
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Mike Smith | Thunderstruck Sports
Darren Raddysh powered an equalizing goal past Colton Ellis, as Jake Guentzel scored the game-winning goal with seconds to play in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning came back in the final moments to beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3. Nikita Kucherov continued to rack up points, picking up assists on both.
The comeback win was the second in as many games, as the Lightning won their fourth game in a row. Tampa Bay came back from a 5-1 deficit to beat Boston 6-5 Sunday night at the Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bolts are now 18-1-1 in their last 20 games dating back to December 20th. Tampa Bay leads the Atlantic Division with a four-point lead over Detroit.
Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring with a wrist shot past Colten Ellis at 10:24 of the first period. Kucherov and Brandon Hagel chased the puck behind the Buffalo net and forced Owen Power to give the puck over into the slot. Hagel then chased down Rasmus Dahlin and forced a turnover that Jake Guentzel picked up.
Guentzel immediately found Kucherov at the bottom of the right circle, who finished off the play to put the Bolts out in front.
Bolts' Miscues Catch Up With Them
The Lightning seemed to go through a "Stadium Series" hangover for most of the evening, as mental mistakes and miscues haunted the team.
Buffalo would answer at the 16:53 mark of the period when Mattias Samuelsson picked off an errant Kucherov pass. Samuelsson drove down the left circle and made a hard-angle shot that got past the Bolts' goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
"I didn't love our game tonight. I'll be honest: I thought our execution was off," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We were just slow tonight. Slow in our puck movement, our execution, and our speed."
"That really didn't help us."
Samuelsson picked up his second goal of the night at 4:08 of the third period when Ryan McLeod found him tearing through the neutral zone unopposed. Samuelsson scored on a wrist shot surrounded by three Lightning players to put Buffalo up, 2-1.
Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand tied it up with a power play goal at 8:53 of the third, with assists from Raddysh and Kucherov. However, Buffalo would answer with a power play goal of their own by Josh Doan at the 14:53 mark, seemingly giving the Sabres all the momentum late.
The Lightning found themselves on the backend of poor bounces and stellar play from Buffalo goalie Colton Ellis. Ellis had stopped 30 of 31 shots entering the final seconds of regulation. The Sabres' lines kept up the forecheck throughout the game to keep the Lightning defense stymied. Overall, the Bolts turned the puck over 25 times.
"(Buffalo) can skate and make plays," Cooper said. "They defend and can do a lot of really good things."
Kucherov Finds a Way, Twice.
Nikita Kucherov continued to find ways to lead the Lightning to victory. Down by a goal with time dwindling, Cooper pulled Vasilevskiy to add an extra skater on the ice. Ellis bore down, stopping several shots as the Buffalo defense forced errant scoring chances for Tampa Bay.
Finally, the Lightning moved the puck around the Buffalo zone to stretch out the Sabres' defense. Brandon Hagel found Kucherov through the slot after recovering the puck bouncing from the corner. Kucherov then fed the puck to Raddysh, who drove home the equalizer.
As the game went into overtime, both teams had chances to win. However, it was Kucherov who found Guentzel on a long pass from the Lightning goal line through the neutral zone for a breakaway. Making it look easy, Guentzel won the game with a shot between Ellis' pads with 15 seconds left in the extended period.
Kucherov had initially missed on the pass, but regrouped to find Guentzel streaking towards the Buffalo blue line. For the second game in a row, Kucherov had a goal and three assists. He accomplished the same feat Sunday night against Boston and now has five four-point games this season. The Russian all-star also recorded a five-point game in a January 13th win at San Jose with a goal and four assists.
Kucherov has 90 points in 50 games and is third on the NHL Point Leader list behind Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
Three Stars of the Game
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay. The future Hall of Famer had another four-point night, his second in as many days.
Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay. Scored his career high 17th goal of the season with a bomb that tied the game with 26 seconds to play.
Matthias Samuelsson, Buffalo. Two goals put Buffalo on top until late.
Up Next
Round Four of the Battle of Florida commences on Thursday as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Game time is at 7 pm.