The Backcheck: Sabres edge Bolts in shootout despite strong Johansson showing

On the same day the Tampa Bay Lightning qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs thanks to outside results, the Lightning added a standings point against the Buffalo Sabres.

Tampa Bay fell to the Sabres 3-2 in a shootout at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday and is now 44-26-6 on the season.

Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson led the way for the visitors, fighting to stop 36 of 38 Buffalo shots on goal.

Despite not getting the win, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said his goalie deserved one.

“That’s one of the toughest jobs in sports is being the backup goaltender. When you don’t get to play a ton of games in a row and get in a rhythm, JJ has been fantastic for us,” Cooper said. “He gave us every opportunity to win that game, and it's too bad we left that one off there for him because he played a heck of a game tonight.”

Johansson’s night started with having to stop numerous Buffalo chances across a first period in which the Lightning were outshot 9-2.

“They were blocking shots but I think just not enough sustained zone time (for us),” Lightning forward Brayden Point said. “A lot of get in the zone, one chance and they were clearing it, which again is something we need to work on. When we’re playing really well that’s something we can do to teams is kind of keep them in their zone.”

The start of the second period carried more offensive drive, and Point needed only one minute, 35 seconds into the middle frame to get the visitors going.

Point won the draw in the left faceoff circle before the puck bounced off Nikita Kucherov’s skate and found an open Point back at the left dot. The latter buried his team-leading 39th goal of the season with a shot inside the left goalpost.

Buffalo tied the game shortly after Point’s marker. Leading scorer Tage Thompson found open ice atop the circles and fired a shot for his 40th goal of the season 4:47 into the period.

The Lightning restored their lead with a strong group effort in the offensive zone. Forward Yanni Gourde won a puck battle behind the Sabres net and tapped the puck over to Oliver Bjorkstrand in the right corner, who zipped a pass to Gage Goncalves near the left circle.

Goncalves fired his sixth career goal through Buffalo goalie James Reimer to make it 2-1 with 6:59 left in the middle frame.

Buffalo tied the game with a power-play goal from Jason Zucker 5:07 into the third period, burying a rebound at the right post to make it 2-2.

Buffalo outshot the Lightning 13-5 in the third period, but Johansson was up to the task and pushed the game to overtime.

Johansson fought through a challenge in the final minute of regulation, denying Buffalo’s Jack Quinn when he broke in alone for a short breakaway.

Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons made his return to Buffalo for the first time after playing the first 11 seasons of his NHL career with the Sabres. He was given a video tribute on Saturday by his former team and also credited Johansson for helping his new team get a standings point despite being outshot 38-24.

“Would’ve been nicer if we came out with the win, but I think JoJo stole us one point there tonight,” Girgensons said. “At least that’s a good one. It was definitely weird to start the first couple shifts, but after that it felt just like a regular game and it was nice to see the video.”

The Bolts repeatedly gave Johansson credit postgame for Tampa Bay reaching overtime.

“He was incredible,” Point said of his goalie. “He’s a big reason we got the one point. That’s a really talented group with a lot of finish, and he made a lot of good saves just to keep us in it.”

Overtime saw more rushes for both teams, but neither scored the game-winning goal before the Sabres outscored the Lightning 2-0 in the shootout to claim the win.

“You want your goalie to give you a chance to win, and that’s exactly what he did tonight,” Cooper said of Johansson. “A lot of times we have pulled those out, and tonight we didn’t. … Now you’re jockeying for position and hopefully we can somehow sneak out home ice (advantage), and that’s why these points are valuable. So, commend these guys that got one, it’s too bad we couldn’t get two.”

The Lightning will hope to get back to winning on Monday, when they close their four-game road trip against the New York Rangers with a 7 p.m. game at Madison Square Garden.

Benjamin’s Three Stars:

1. Alex Tuch, BUF (Shootout winner, assist)

2. Jonas Johansson, TBL (36 saves)

3. Tage Thompson, BUF (Goal)