Hedman, Maroon lead Bolts to Global Series sweep

With a global audience watching, the Lightning picked a good time to play some of their best hockey of the season.
Tampa Bay carried over momentum from Friday's win into a 5-3 victory over the Sabres in the finale of the 2019 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday.

Bounces both helped and hurt the Bolts in the game's opening period.
After scoring both of Buffalo's goals in yesterday's game, Sam Reinhart opened the scoring on Saturday. His initial shot hit the post but an unlucky bounce sent the puck over the goal line after banking off Curtis McElhinney's back.

Late in the period, a favorable bounce helped the Lightning tie the game at one. Yanni Gourde took the initial shot and the puck caromed off a Buffalo defender and Pat Maroon on its way into the net.
The highlight of the night came early in the second period when Victor Hedman scored a power play goal in his home country. Stationed at the point, Hedman fired a one-timer off a feed from Steven Stamkos to give the Bolts the lead.
Maroon added his second goal of the game with three seconds to play in the period to push the Lightning's lead up to two. With Buffalo goaltender Carter Hutton sprawled out the crease, Maroon was able to swipe the puck over the line in the dying seconds.
Victor Olofsson pulled the Sabres back within one with a goal early in the third period, but the Lightning answered back with goals from Gourde and Mathieu Joseph just over a minute apart to put the game away.
Jack Eichel added a goal with less than a minute to play in regulation to round out the scoring.
The usually heavy-hitting fourth line led the way offensively for the Bolts on Saturday. Maroon, Gourde and Cedric Paquette each registered multi-point performances in the victory.

Cutris McElhinney earned his second win of the season in goal for the Bolts, making 40 saves.
Although it's early in the season, the pair of wins could be crucial for the Bolts as the season goes on. Coming into the back-to-back, Tampa Bay trailed Buffalo by six points in the Atlantic Division standings. Thanks to the sweep, the Lightning have now pulled themselves within two points of the Sabres who sit in third in the division.
The Lightning will make the flight back to Tampa on Sunday and have three days to prepare for their next game on Thursday vs. the Rangers at Amalie Arena.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
BUF | 9:30 Sam Reinhart (8) - Marcus Johansson, Brandon Montour
TBL | 17:02 Pat Maroon (2) - Yanni Gourde, Kevin Shattenkirk - PPG
2nd Period
TBL | 1:58 Victor Hedman (3) - Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov - PPG
TBL | 19:57 Pat Maroon (3) - Cedric Paquette, Kevin Shattenkirk
3rd Period
BUF | 4:14 Victor Olofsson (7) - Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart
TBL | 9:48 Yanni Gourde (4) - Cedric Paquette
TBL | 10:55 Mathieu Joseph (4) - Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli
BUF | 19:22 Jack Eichel (8) - Rasmus Ristolainen, Rasums Dahlin