Multiple Brawls Break Out Between Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning in Wild 8–7 Game

Multiple Brawls Break Out Between Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning in Wild 8–7 Game

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A chaotic matchup between the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning turned into one of the NHL’s most intense games of the season, featuring multiple fights, more than 100 penalty minutes, and a dramatic 8–7 Sabres victory.

Early Brawls Set the Tone

Tensions exploded less than five minutes into the game when Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli slammed Tage Thompson into the boards after the whistle. The late hit sparked a massive line brawl as both teams piled in.

Thompson briefly stayed down before trying to rejoin the fight, while punches were thrown across the ice. Meanwhile, Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh and Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin separated from the crowd and exchanged heavy blows in their own fight.

The incident resulted in several penalties. Raddysh received a five-minute major for fighting and an additional two-minute penalty for slashing Alex Tuch, served by Conor Geekie. Hagel was assessed a two-minute boarding penalty, while Dahlin also received five minutes for fighting.

Fighting Continues Throughout the First Period

The aggression didn’t stop there.

With just over 11 minutes remaining in the first period, Sam Carrick and Scott Sabourin dropped their gloves for another fight. Shortly after, Hagel became involved in a second altercation, this time against Peyton Krebs.

As punches flew between the two players, the rest of the skaters joined another chaotic scrum. Bowen Byram and Charle-Edouard D’Astous also engaged in a separate clash.

By the end of the opening period, officials had handed out 70 penalty minutes.

Second Period Starts With More Fights

The second period began with even more action.

Just two seconds into the period, Michael Kesselring and Erik Cernak immediately started fighting. Four seconds later, Lightning veteran Corey Perry dropped his gloves against Beck Malenstyn, adding another bout to the growing list.

Within the first 10 minutes of the second period, referees issued 28 additional penalty minutes.

Offensive Explosion Leads to 8–7 Sabres Win

After the teams finally released their frustrations, the game turned into a scoring frenzy.

The Sabres ultimately secured an 8–7 victory, highlighted by Josh Doan, who scored the game-winning goal with 4:17 remaining in regulation for his 21st goal of the season.

The win marked Buffalo’s seventh straight victory, pushing them two points ahead of the Lightning in the standings.

Key Performances

Several players delivered standout performances during the high-scoring game:

Buffalo Sabres

• Josh Doan – Game-winning goal
• Alex Tuch – 2 goals
• Jason Zucker – 2 goals
• Sam Carrick – 1 goal
• Rasmus Dahlin – 1 goal
• Tage Thompson – 4 assists
• Bowen Byram – 3 assists
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 21 saves

Tampa Bay Lightning

• Nikita Kucherov – 2 goals, 1 assist
• J.J. Moser – 1 goal
• Corey Perry – 1 goal
• Brandon Hagel – 1 goal
• Brayden Point – 1 goal
• Zemgus Girgensons – 1 goal
• Jonas Johansson – 34 saves

Historic Penalty Totals

By the final whistle, the two teams had combined for:

• 15 total goals
• 27 penalties
• More than 100 penalty minutes
• Five fights and a post-game scrum

According to OptaStats, the NHL had not seen a game with both 15 goals and at least 27 penalties since February 21, 1994, when the Philadelphia Flyers faced the Montreal Canadiens.

Next Meeting

The Sabres and Lightning will meet once more during the regular season on April 6 in Buffalo, setting up another potentially heated matchup between the two rivals.

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