The Tampa Bay Lightning won’t be denied.
The Boston Bruins learned firsthand after Sunday’s 2026 NHL Stadium Series game—one that saw the greatest comeback victory in Lightning franchise history. And now after Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres know, too.
Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh blasted home the game-tying goal with 25 seconds left in the third period on Tuesday to force overtime against Buffalo at Benchmark International Arena, and teammate Jake Guentzel then stunned the Sabres by winning the game on a breakaway with only 15 seconds remaining in the extra period.
“We just go into every game, we feel like we have a chance to win it,” Guentzel said. “We believe in our group, and when we're down, we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
Tampa Bay’s latest comeback victory improves the team to 36-14-4 this season, a record helped by an 18-1-1 run over its last 20 games.
The Lightning crawled out of a tough spot late on Tuesday—tied 2-2 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period, Tampa Bay was called for a tripping penalty. The Sabres took advantage, grabbing a 3-2 lead when Josh Doan directed the puck into the net at the right post with 5:07 left in regulation.
Tampa Bay pulled their goalie in the closing minutes, allowing Nikita Kucherov to tee up Raddysh for a one-timer atop the offensive zone at 6-on-5. The puck whistled through heavy traffic in front of the net, beating goalie Colten Ellis on the blocker side with 25 seconds remaining.
“(Brandon Hagel) made a great play over to Kuch and everyone kind of went and looked at him,” Raddysh said of the play. “Kuch makes my job easy. I’ve just got to come in and pound it. Good screen in front too, and thankfully it went in.”
Raddysh has now scored a goal in five consecutive games, which is now the franchise record for longest goal-scoring streak by a defenseman. He initially broke the record in Sunday’s Stadium Series game.
The 29-year-old defenseman now has 17 goals and 51 points this season. He hit the 50-point mark in his 48th game this season, tying Victor Hedman as the fastest defenseman to reach 50 points in any season in franchise history.
Kucherov had a goal and four points, including an assist on Guentzel’s overtime winner. Kucherov flung the puck from the Lightning goal line in overtime to a waiting Guentzel at center ice behind Buffalo’s defense, and the latter buried his shot five-hole.
Raddysh said the team continues to believe in one another, and that was especially the case in overtime against their Atlantic Division opponent.
“It’s next goal wins, and we believe in the guys in this room to get the job done,” he said. “And it was evident tonight.”
Tuesday started with a goal by Kucherov, his team-leading 29th of the season 10:24 into the game.
Guentzel intercepted a breakout pass by Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin atop the left faceoff circle and quickly zipped a pass to Nikita Kucherov near the goal line. Kucherov wasted no time in sending his shot past the glove of Ellis.
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson tied the game with 3:07 remaining in the first period when he skated to the bottom of the left corner and snuck a shot inside the near post for the 1-1 goal.
It was Samuelsson who then gave the Sabres their first lead of the night 4:08 into the third period—the defenseman skated through the center of the offensive zone and released a shot from above the circles that evaded Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy into the right half of the net.
The Lightning tied the game 2-2 with 11:07 remaining in the third on the power play. Raddysh’s point shot created a rebound for Oilver Bjorkstrand, who buried the netfront rebound for his ninth goal—and eighth on the power play—this season.
The teams then traded the goals by Doan and Raddysh to force overtime.
“Tonight was a pretty close game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We were fortunate to get the late 6-on-5 goal, but these guys play hard. That's the one thing I can never fault these guys for. And we're getting big goals at big times, and that's really helping us. It’s really just a pleasure to coach the group. A lot of positivity on the bench, and for the most part, everybody pulls in the right direction.”
Tampa Bay will now prepare for the team's final game before the Olympic break, set for Thursday when they host the Florida Panthers at 7:30 p.m.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Jake Guentzel, TBL (Game-winning goal, assist)
- Nikita Kucherov, TBL (Goal, 3 assists)
- Mattias Samuelsson, BUF (2 goals)
