Lightning bury Sabres 8-3 as Kucherov scores three in third

The Lightning beat the Sabres 8-3 at KeyBank Center after Buffalo cut a 4-0 deficit to 4-3 early in the third. Tampa Bay answered with four goals in the period and pulled away.

Nikita Kucherov was the player of the game with 3 goals, 1 assist and 5 shots on goal. John Carlson had 5 points, four of them assists.

Carlson opened the scoring with a snap shot at 19:38 of the first for a 2-0 lead. Brandon Hagel made it 3-0 at 4:33 of the second, and Yanni Gourde pushed it to 4-0 at 13:02. Josh Doan and Jason Zucker scored for Buffalo before the period ended, and Tage Thompson made it 4-3 just 33 seconds into the third.

Kucherov replied at 1:25 with a backhand for 5-3, then added a slap shot at 4:11 for 6-3. He scored again at 14:13 for 7-3, and Hagel finished it at 15:06.

Tampa Bay moves to 12-4-2. Chirp's Sim gave the Lightning 53% before the game.