The Tampa Bay Lightning has a very pressing task in front of them tonight. The Lightning is in the midst of taking on the Buffalo Sabres, who as many already know, are Divisional opponents of the Lightning. In other words, bringing home the two points in tonight’s contest is incredibly crucial.
Unfortunately, this first period of play didn’t exactly go as the Lightning would’ve planned. After opening up the game with a solid presence, the Lightning seemed to wither away and allow the Sabres to take control of the game. Then…it happened.
With less than 30 seconds left in the first period of play, the Lightning would find themselves on the first penalty kill of the game as Nikita Kucherov headed to the sin bin for Hooking against Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe.