The Tampa Bay Lightning entered Sunday night’s game with what the Buffalo Sabers wanted. But the Lightning didn’t give up first place in the Atlantic Division without a fight, or five.
Buffalo won 8-7, tallying 28 penalties and 102 penalty minutes. And one of those punishments caught the eye of the NHL’s player safety department.
More: NHL analyst gives blunt response to Buffalo Sabres’ Stanley Cup chances
The NHL announced Monday that it has fined Tampa Bay forward Brandon Hagel $5,000, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, as the aggressor in a fight with Buffalo star Rasmus Dahlin.
A fight broke out at 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the second quarter. That’s when Hagel grabbed Dahlin in front of the Buffalo net and didn’t let him go before throwing a punch. As a result, Hagel received a double minor for roughing, but the Sabers bench thought he should be ejected.
“I’m not a referee, but usually the guy gets thrown out in those situations,” Sabers coach Lindy Ruff said, according to NHL.com. “He doesn’t get four minutes. He’ll probably have to get two for every punch, which will give him at least 20 minutes and get him kicked out. But I’m not the referee, so I’ll let you decide.”
Beyond a fist fight, the game turned into a thriller. The Lightning overcame an early 4-1 deficit to take two-goal leads in the third period, 6-4 and 7-5. Buffalo then scored three goals in the final nine minutes. Josh Doan, Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker each had two goals for the Sabres. Nikita Kucherov scored twice for Tampa Bay.
“Yeah, I think it’s a playoff game. … I think we got better as a team today,” Hagel said after the game.
The Sabers, who last made the playoffs in 2011, now lead the Atlantic with 84 points, two more than Tampa Bay. However, the Lightning have two games to play.
Tampa Bay visits Buffalo again on April 6.
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