A Buffalo Sabres team that had been outscored 14-5 in three consecutive losses (against Eastern Conference bottom-feeders) leading up to tonight, forced extra minutes against the league juggernaut, Tampa Bay Lightning.
On the back of a stellar performance in goal by Carter Hutton (who was called into action after Linus Ullmark sustained an injury in practice this morning), Buffalo held strong through 65 minutes, but could not solve Andrei Vasilevsky in the shootout, eventually dropping a 2-1 decision at Amalie Arena. Given the circumstances of how the 2018-19 campaign has deteriorated for the blue-and-gold, it’s tough to be satisfied with any loss, but securing a point on the road against a team that had won seven in-a-row coming into tonight, came as a bit of a pleasant surprise.