BUFFALO, NY. (The Associated Press) — Nicholas Paul and Tyler Motte scored 52 seconds apart in the first period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Brandon Hagel had two assists, and Paul added an assist when defenseman Calvin de Haan scored into the empty net late in the third period. Jonas Johansson, a former Sabres player now backing up Andrei Vasilevskiy with the Lightning, made 27 saves in the opener of a three-game road trip.
Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury. Following consecutive shutout victories, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 13 of 15 shots for Buffalo.
Motte’s shorthanded goal gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead at 7:06 into the first period. He stripped the puck from Buffalo’s Alex Tuch in the defensive zone and beat Luukkonen on a breakaway.
That came less than a minute after Brandon Hagel set up Paul in the left circle for his 12th goal.
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Sabres: Visit Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night to open three-game road trip.
