The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 in the season finale at Amalie Arena in Tampa Sunday evening.
It’s been a while since the Lightning had to “play out a string,” even a string as short as one game, but it hasn’t been that long. Having been eliminated from playoff consideration the night before, thanks to the Toronto Maple Leafs rallying in the third period to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, tonight’s game had an air of uncomfortable familiarity.
Not nearly as bad as it used to feel during some of the really dark years in this franchise’s history when postseason play wasn’t even a realistic aspiration, but with nothing at stake, there was a sense of “oh yeah, I remember this; I don’t care for it,” in the building; something akin to being cut from a team following three years as a varsity starter after making the roster as a walk-on.