The Tampa Bay Lightning (24-9-5) blew out the Buffalo Sabres (10-19-6) 6-1 on Tuesday night in Buffalo.
The Lightning took the lead early with first period goals from Ondrej Palat and Anthony Cirelli. In the second period, Nikita Kucherov scored twice and Steven Stamkos added another to make it 5-0.
When the Sabres got on the board with a power play goal from Vinnie Hinostroza in the third, Kucherov answered with his hat trick goal at the 13:57 mark of the third to clinch the win.
Andrei Vasilveskiy picked up the win in net for Tampa Bay, saving 17 of the 18 shots the Sabres got on net.
The Lightning now return home and will host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Puck drop from Amalie Arena is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Thursday - pregame coverage begins at 6:00 PM on News Radio WFLA.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES