The more rested Lightning had the bulk of the chances early, and they turned a Sabres giveaway into a Nikita Kucherov goal. Ellis was Buffalo’s best player as he made 12 saves in the first period, including five on high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

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

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.

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

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.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Buffalo Sabres vs. Florida Panthers NHL game from February 2, 2026 on ESPN.

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.