March 8, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left fielder Brandon Hagel (38) reacts after scoring a goal in the third quarter during a game against the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Image The Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t disappointed with a bad road trip, losing the Atlantic Division lead and squandering a chance to win Sunday in what many consider “the game of the season.”
Now sitting in second place in the Atlantic, the Lightning had plenty to accomplish as they opened a three-game homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
But it will be difficult to set aside Sunday’s classic, a brawling, high-scoring game that thrilled fans in Buffalo.
Tampa Bay overcame a 4-1 deficit with five straight goals and looked ready to embark on a four-game road trip. But the Sabers rallied from a two-goal deficit to win their seventh straight game in a crazy 8-7 classic.
Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel, who had a goal and an assist, was fined $5,000 by the NHL for his offensive role in Monday’s bout with Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin.
“Obviously there’s a lot of things we can clean up,” Hagel said. “Eight goals (allowed) is definitely easy to sort out.”
Lightning coach John Cooper said he was not happy with his team giving up five goals on special teams.
“It was a fun and emotional night for the fans,” Cooper said. “It’s better than the lack of emotion and the fans being on the edge of their seats.”
The Lightning will begin a three-game homestand against the Blue Jackets.
Columbus turned its season around when it hired Rick Bowness, who replaced fired coach Dean Evason on Jan. 13 and implemented a more defense-oriented approach.
The Blue Jackets are 13-2-3 since Bowness arrived.
Connor Garland scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings recorded a 5-4 overtime win in Monday’s home makeup game, postponed to Jan. 26 due to a snowstorm ravaging the region.
Columbus is two points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Blue Jackets also lost 5-4 in overtime to Utah on Saturday, and expect a similar high-speed matchup against the Lightning, a mammothly fast team.
“We touched on a few things the other day that we need to clean up,” Columbus head coach Jared Ball said before Monday’s overtime loss. “It’s just making plays on the puck.”
Columbus has scored in six straight games (3-0-3).
Kirill Marchenko scored his team-leading 23rd goal with 1:56 left in overtime Monday. The winger has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last five games.
Dante Fabbro returned after missing two games, but Columbus played the final two periods with five defensemen as Erik Gudbransson did not return with an upper-body injury.
Fellow defenseman Denton Mateichuk (21) scored his first double-digit goal of the season with his 10th goal in the second period.
Goaltender Jett Greaves (8-0-2) had a point in 10 straight games but gave up the game-winning goal to Adrian Kempe.
–Field level media
