Inside The Sabres' Thrilling Game Against Tampa Bay Lightning

The last three months for the Buffalo Sabres have given the people of Western New York something unimaginable: a high-quality team on the ice that is quite exciting.

If you look at the Buffalo Sabres on December 14, 2026, which was the day before Jarmo Kekäläinen took over control of the team as General Manager from Kevyn Adams, to where the team is today, we're talking about two totally different teams. The first part of the season, it looked as if we'd be continuing as one of the worst-performing teams in the NHL. Now, we have the number one team in the NHL's Atlantic Division.

In the aftermath of a gritty win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, there is talk all over the hockey world that the March 8th matchup between the two top teams in the Atlantic will go down as the 2025/26 NHL game of the year.

Was March 8th's Buffalo and Tampa Bay Lightning Matchup The Game Of The Year?

When you look at the stats and recap from last night's game, by all accounts, the Sabres and Lightning had a battle for the Atlantic.

The game that gave the Sabres their 7th straight win featured more than 100 penalty minutes and 15 goals between both teams, with 5 lead changes before Josh Doan knocked in the go-ahead, game-winning power play goal.

Many sports pundits and fans around hockey are all saying the same thing: this was the game of the year for the NHL.

We think so too! Let's Go, Buffalo!