04/15/24 09:55:00
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04/15 21:53 CDT Dylan Cozens scores 2 goals as Sabres beat Lightning 4-2 to
finish another disappointing season
Dylan Cozens scores 2 goals as Sabres beat Lightning 4-2 to finish another
disappointing season
By JOHN KREISER
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --- Dylan Cozens scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres concluded
another disappointing season with a 4-2 win over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay
Lightning on Monday night.
Jordan Greenway and Zach Benson also scored for the Sabres, who will miss the
playoffs for an NHL-record 13th consecutive season.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos reached the 40-goal mark for the seventh time
in his NHL career, Erik Cernak scored midway through the third period and
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves for Tampa Bay, which is assured of finishing
as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Lightning, 0-2-1 in their past three games, will play either Boston or
Florida in the first round of the playoffs after concluding their regular
season against Toronto on Wednesday night.
"Not much to look at that was good tonight," Stamkos said. "We've got one game
left to just do the little things right. The stuff that we practice every day
in practice. Just the nuances of the details --- it wasn't great."
Buffalo needed just 1:26 from the opening faceoff to take a 1-0 lead when
Cozens snapped the rebound of Jack Quinn's shot past Vasilevskiy. He put the
Sabres ahead 2-1 with a short-handed goal at 5:08 of the second. Cozens also
had an assist.
"It was very nice to see Dylan rewarded for the work he put in," Sabres coach
Don Granato said. "He competed hard tonight, he was strong on pucks, and
obviously he was rewarded for it. He was a real pain in the neck for them the
entire night."
Greenway, who set up Cozens' second goal, made it 3-1 at 16:12, helping the
Sabres defeat the Lightning for the third time in their four meetings, and
Benson added a third-period goal.
Buffalo goalie Eric Comrie, playing for the first time since March 7, made 31
saves. He had been 0-7-1 since winning his first start of the season on Oct. 21.
"Comms played great," Cozens said. "I couldn't be happier for him, to have him
end his season on that note."
Stamkos' goal at 2:27 of the second period tied the game 1-1 and came off a
pass from NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov, who earned his 99th assist and
142nd point.
Cernak's goal at 9:39 of the third cut the margin to 3-2, but Benson scored 15
seconds later.
"At times tonight it looked like we just wanted to get out of the game instead
of finishing it through," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
The Sabres haven't made the playoffs since 2010-11, and forward Alex Tuch said
the season-ending win didn't merit much celebration.
"We can take away some good things; you can feel good about this game for the
next couple of days, but I don't want guys to think about this season too
much," he said. "I want them in the back of their minds to remember how this
feels, how crappy this feels to miss the playoffs just like we did last year."
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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