Nikita Kucherov scored a natural hat trick and added an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 8-3 on Wednesday night.
The Story
Nikita Kucherov powered the Tampa Bay Lightning with a natural hat trick and an assist in the third period as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 8-3 on Wednesday night.
Buffalo had scored three straight after falling behind, trimming the deficit to 4-3, but Kucherov quickly took over. He scored his first two goals within a 2:46 span, extending Tampa Bay’s lead before adding his third to complete the natural hat trick.
Brandon Hagel scored twice, and John Carlson had a goal and four assists for the Lightning. Scott Sabourin and Yanni Gourde also scored, while Jake Guentzel finished with four assists and Anthony Cirelli added three points.
In goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for Tampa Bay.
The Sabres’ goals came from Josh Doan, Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson. Thompson scored 33 seconds into the third period to make it 4-3, but Buffalo couldn’t get closer after Kucherov’s burst.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made nine saves on 14 shots before Colten Ellis came on in relief and stopped five of eight shots.
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