Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk is making a big declaration after losing to the Sabres. Florida has dropped four straight.

Jake Guentzel leads the Lightning in high-danger chances over the past five games, but only scored in one of them. Playing for a sizable home favorite in a game with a 6.5 total, this is a good spot for him to find twine. The Lightning are a strong shot suppression team, but that shouldn’t matter too much for Jason Zucker.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres NHL game from February 3, 2026 on ESPN.

Konsta Helenius scored his first NHL goal, assisted on two others, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Nashville Predators 5-3.

An Edmonton Oilers superstar, Buffalo Sabres D-man and Montreal Canadiens goaltender had hot weeks, while a Winnipeg Jets center and Colorado Avalanche star right winger had the opposite.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jason Zucker broke a tie on a power play at 5:31 of the third period and he Buffalo Sabres beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday night. The Sabres have won six of seven and took over the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

The two-day draft was already set for June 26-27, with the league going with a decentralized format for a second straight year.

The Buffalo Sabres will host the NHL draft for the first time since 2016, when Auston Matthews went first overall.

The Bolts host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. inside Benchmark International Arena. The Lightning are 17-1-1 over their last 19 games.